The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EOCC) has filed a lawsuit against a Delaware-based fire-hydrant company over complaints of sexual harassment at its factory in Albertville.
According to the EEOC, Mueller and a South Carolina-based hiring agency IH Services, Inc. ignored repeated complaints of sexual harassment made by three female IH employees against male factory workers at Mueller.
From May 2018 to August 2020, the allegations included unwanted advances, sexual touching and comments, solicitation, flashing, and attempted rape.
After the women filed their complaints, the EEOC said IH Services "retaliated against them by reducing their hours, transferring them to other undesirable shifts, and suspending or firing them."
The EEOC claims it first tried to settle before it filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, seeking "monetary damages for the victims, including compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief against the companies to prevent such unlawful conduct in the future."
"Title VII requires employers to provide a workplace free from severe or pervasive sexual harassment, even when the harassers are not its own employees," said EEOC Birmingham District director Bradley Anderson. "Likewise, Title VII requires employers to protect contract workers assigned to its workplace from harassment by its own employees."
Marsha Rucker, regional attorney for the EEOC's Birmingham District, said, "The EEOC will aggressively pursue remedies for victims of sexual harassment in the workplace and those whom employers retaliate against for exercising their rights under Title VII."
Mueller declined to comment on the lawsuit but did "vigorously" deny the allegations.
"At Mueller, in accordance with our core values, we provide a supportive workplace free of harassment and discrimination. Accordingly, we maintain and enforce policies strictly prohibiting unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation," Mueller said in a statement.
The company added, "Due to the ongoing nature of the lawsuit filed by the EEOC in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on May 1, 2023, we cannot comment on the case. As an equal employment opportunity employer, we vigorously dispute the allegations contained in the lawsuit and look forward to presenting our evidence and defense in federal court."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com.
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