Dive Brief:

• Millwork and cabinetry company Third Bench Holdings will pay $165,000 to settle U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allegations that it retaliated against three employees, including an HR manager, according to a consent decree filed July 26. 
• As part of the agreement, among other requirements, the company will develop and distribute a harassment and discrimination reporting protocol, adopt and distribute an anti-discrimination and retaliation policy, and provide at least two hours of annual training on Title VII compliance, according to the consent decree. 
• “We are pleased with the individualized relief obtained for the three claimants in this lawsuit,” Brooke López, trial attorney in the EEOC’s Dallas district office, said in an agency statement. “We are also encouraged by the employer’s commitment to injunctive relief, which includes annual training to be provided by a third party for the employer’s executive team.”

Dive Insight:

According to the complaint in EEOC v. Third Bench Holdings LLC, filed Aug. 9, 2023, the dispute stemmed from a general manager’s complaint that she and other Hispanic managers were being treated differently than non-Hispanic managers. 

The general manager first went to the acting chief operating officer in August 2021, who told her “not to go to HR” and suggested they “fix it between themselves,” according to the complaint. Believing no action was being taken, the general manager nevertheless approached an HR manager in September, who looped the CEO and a part owner into the situation. 

Shortly after, the HR manager also notified the two that she also believed she was being harassed by a worker for “expressing concern” about the general manager’s complaints.

In October, the HR manager opened an internal investigation and conducted interviews, including of the general manager’s husband, also an employee at the company. She sent her interview notes to the CEO and part owner. 

The next day — after the HR manager sent another email requesting the CEO and part owner call her regarding the investigation — the general manager’s husband was fired and the general manager was demoted to salesperson, according to the complaint, both at the direction of the CEO and part owner. 

Because of the continued harassment, the HR manager told the CEO and part owner she planned to file a discrimination charge with the EEOC, the complaint said. In response, the two allegedly hired a third-party HR contractor to investigate her complaints and attempt to convince her not to file a charge. The HR manager was fired in November, according to the complaint.

“We hope that the resolution of this case will create change for this Las Cruces employer and will serve as a reminder that EEOC will protect an employee’s right to speak out against what they reasonably believe is discrimination,” Brian Hawthorne, trial attorney in the EEOC’s Dallas district office, said of the settlement. 

EEO laws prohibit disciplining a worker for participating in “protected activity,” which can include filing a complaint, participating in an employer investigation or discussing harassment with leadership, among other actions, EEOC has explained. 

Given HR’s role in investigating complaints, it isn’t unusual for such workers to find themselves at the center of retaliatory action. Earlier this month, for example, a construction company paid $50,000 to settle EEOC allegations it retaliated against an HR manager for investigating sexual harassment complaints (EEOC v. Pro Pallet, LLC). 

And in September 2022, EEOC brought charges against a car dealership that threatened an HR director and recruiter with termination after they objected to allegedly sexist hiring practices (EEOC v. Landmark Dodge Inc. and Landmark South Inc.). That case remains in litigation.