Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the weeks between Friday, July 12, and Friday, July 19
Texas Endangerers
While one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of commercial flooring and surfaces — including recycled rubber products used throughout the nation in playgrounds, fitness centers and sports fields — touts its products’ safety and environmental benefits, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found the company less committed to protecting its own employees.
An inspection of Ecore International Inc’s Mexia plant by the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in January 2024 found more than a dozen safety and health violations. Investigators discovered the company made employees stand on a forklift’s elevated tines to reach work areas; failed to prevent small fires fueled by improper buildup of combustible dust and permitted potentially explosive atmospheres to exist; lacked safe areas for welding; exposed employees to slip, trip and fall hazards; allowed untrained workers to operate forklifts; and failed to ensure machines had required safety guards.
OSHA issued Ecore International citations for one willful violation and 15 serious violations. The company faces $299,591 in proposed penalties.
In a separate investigation in May 2024 at a new Ecore facility in Ozark, Alabama, OSHA found similar machine guard hazards unchecked and employees exposed to potential electrocution and amputation dangers.
“A successful enterprise like Ecore International has the resources to establish and follow a comprehensive safety and health program and to address hazards proactively before disaster strikes,” Camacho added.
Texas Harassers
Altman Specialty Plants, LLC, the largest horticultural grower in the United States, will pay $172,000 in monetary relief and furnish extensive injunctive relief to resolve a finding of sex discrimination and retaliation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a conciliation agreement, the federal agency announced today.
The conciliation follows an EEOC investigation into charges where EEOC found that an Altman supervisor subjected female employees to sexual harassment and a sexually hostile work environment for an extensive period at its Austin, Texas location.
The investigation further revealed that after complaining about sexual harassment, the employees were retaliated against, thereby creating a chilling effect making Altman’s EEO policies and complaint procedures ineffective. Such alleged conduct is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination, including sexual harassment, based on sex and retaliation for engaging in a protected activity.
Altman disputes the allegations but cooperated with EEOC during its investigation into conduct that was alleged to be in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Altman states it makes efforts to ensure that all its employees are provided with a safe workplace free from discrimination and retaliation of any kind.
Under the three-year conciliation agreement settling the charges, Altman will pay $172,000 in monetary damages. The company also agreed to enforce its non-discrimination and non-retaliation policies; revise and implement an effective complaint procedure; distribute and post in English and Spanish an equal employment opportunity non-discrimination notice; and conduct sex discrimination and retaliation training for all employees at its Austin location.
“Sexual harassment remains a persistent problem among horticulture and agriculture workers, especially those with limited English proficiency,” said Norma J. Guzman, field director of the EEOC’s San Antonio Field Office. “Protecting vulnerable workers remains a priority for EEOC, and employers should not relinquish its responsibility or oversight to ensure a work environment free of harassment and retaliation. This oversight is especially important when a supervisor in a position of authority routinely works unsupervised; allowed to hire and work directly with close friends and family members, creating the potential for non-compliance.”
Louisiana Discriminators
Dollar General Stores will pay $295,000 and furnish other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) age discrimination, harassment, and retaliation lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.
According to the lawsuit, from July 2016 until January 2018, a newly hired Dollar General regional director in Oklahoma harassed district managers who were in their 50s and older by calling them “grumpy old men,” telling them he was building “a millennial team” and they needed “young blood” in the stores, and threatening them to keep up with the “millennial team” or quit or be fired.
After one of the district managers quit and reported the harassment to the company, Dollar General sought feedback from the district managers about the new regional director but did not investigate reports of age discrimination. Emboldened, the regional director continued harassing older workers and fired two district managers in retaliation for reporting his misconduct. Eventually another district manager was forced to quit because of the continual harassment.
Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits age discrimination and harassment, as well as retaliation against workers who report such conduct. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dolgencorp, LLC d/b/a Dollar General, Civil Action No. 6:21-cv-00295) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
In addition to the payment to three former managers, the decree requires Dollar General to take a variety of actions to protect older workers in its Eastern Oklahoma region from discrimination based on age, including training retail and human resources managers, adopting and distributing effective policies and procedures to prevent age harassment and discrimination, and notifying employees of their rights. The company will also report to the EEOC regarding compliance with the decree.
“Unfortunately, age discrimination in the workplace is pervasive and often goes unreported,” said Andrea G. Baran, the EEOC’s regional attorney for the St. Louis District. “Employers must take serious, effective steps to prevent age discrimination and harassment, they must encourage employees to report any discriminatory treatment they experience or observe on the job, and they must not tolerate any workplace behavior that demeans or ridicules older workers because of their age.”
David Davis, director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District office, said, “Employers that discriminate against older workers based on ageist stereotypes and assumptions not only violate the law, they also deprive themselves of an experienced and capable workforce. Age discrimination has no place in any business.”
Dishonorable Mentions
- The USDOL recovered $288,979 in back wages and liquidated damages for 92 employees after its investigation found an Atlantic Beach, FL property management group’s improper pay practices denied them overtime wages they earned.
- The USDOL’s Wage and Hour Division found PAR Construction in Lake Charles, LA paid 19 non-exempt employees straight time for overtime for hours over 40 in a workweek, denying these workers the time and one-half overtime premium required by law. The Division recovered $74k in back wages and damages
- Investigators with the USDOL’s Wage and Hour Division found the non-emergency medical transport company KDK Transport Co in Coeburn, WV applied the Motor Carrier Exemption mistakenly and, by doing so, failed to combine all hours worked by drivers, including driving and wait times, when computing total weekly hours for overtime wages for 60 drivers. The division recovered $170,439 for 60 workers
- A USDOL investigation has recovered $238,746 in overtime wages owed to 1,024 solar panel and system installers employed by renewable energy company Windmar Home in Puerto Rico that failed to include various bonuses in their salaries and calculated overtime wages incorrectly.