Illegal activities of Southern Bosses for the weeks between Friday, August 22, and Friday, August 29
Georgia Discriminators
Sam’s East, Inc. and Walmart Inc., which together operate a chain of warehouse club retail stores known as Sam’s Club, will pay $60,000 and undertake remedial measures to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s suit, the Sam’s Club in Douglasville, Georgia, refused to let a longtime employee return to her associate position in June 2022 following a medical leave of absence related to an automobile accident. The accident left her with post-concussion syndrome, upper back pain, muscle spasms, and chronic lower back pain.
The employee sought minor, temporary adjustments to her duties as a reasonable accommodation for her disabilities. The employee successfully performed a shift with those restrictions upon her return but was later told by her supervisor she could not work with restrictions and would instead need to take another leave of absence until she could work without any restrictions. As instructed, the employee sought additional leave, providing Sam’s Club with a date by which she would be capable of working without restriction. Sam’s Club then denied the employee’s requested leave and fired her. The store’s general manager told her Sam’s Club would not accommodate her injuries because they occurred outside of work.
This alleged conduct violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits disability discrimination. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
“With few exceptions, the source of a disabling condition is not relevant to whether an employee is entitled to an accommodation for a disability,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “The EEOC is pleased that Sam’s Club will take measures to ensure that its employees understand this principle in the future.
The approved consent decree settling the suit requires Sam’s Club to provide monetary relief to the employee; post a notice informing employees at the Douglasville, Georgia store of the settlement and of their rights against discrimination; and train relevant employees at the store about their rights and responsibilities under the ADA, emphasizing that the source of a disability is generally irrelevant to determining whether an employee is entitled to an accommodation. Moreover, Sam’s Club agreed to provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding future denials of accommodation requests at the Douglasville, Georgia store, including an explanation of why any request was denied.
More Georgia Discriminators
BWW Resources, LLC, which owns and operates Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants, agreed to pay $47,500 to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
The EEOC’s suit said that a server candidate, who wore long skirts in public because of her sincerely held religious beliefs, asked the general manager of Buffalo Wild Wings’ Douglasville, Georgia location about a job opening. The general manager confirmed the restaurant was hiring, but then mocked the candidate’s religious beliefs.
After the candidate applied for a server position, the restaurant failed to interview her or otherwise contact her regarding the open position. Shortly after, an assistant manager said the restaurant would not hire the applicant because it was unusual for servers to wear long skirts in a sports bar. The location did not hire the applicant and hired five servers within two months of her application, according to the EEOC’s suit.
“Title VII prohibits employers from refusing to hire a job candidate to avoid accommodating a religious practice, absent undue hardship,” said Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “The EEOC is pleased that BWW Resources has agreed to take steps to ensure that Title VII violations do not occur in the future.”
The restaurant’s alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement via its conciliation process.
The two-year consent decree resolving the EEOC’s lawsuit requires BWW Resources to provide monetary relief to the applicant; provide specialized training to the managers, supervisors and human resources personnel for the Douglasville location; and post a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement and of their rights against discrimination.
Furthermore, the company will provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding requests for religious accommodations from future job applicants, as well as employee complaints of religious discrimination or retaliation.
Missouri Discriminators
Landmark Dodge, Inc., and Landmark South, Inc. (Landmark Dodge), the owners of automobile dealerships in Independence, Missouri and formerly in Belton, Missouri, will pay $275,000 and furnish other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.
The EEOC’s suit alleged Landmark Dodge had a policy of refusing to hire women for sales jobs and men for office jobs, and that the company retaliated against two human resources employees who opposed the practice.
According to the suit, Landmark Dodge’s owner told two new human resources employees that he believed women don’t make good salespeople and men don’t work well in the office. The two HR employees quickly discovered the company’s hiring managers were in fact refusing to hire women for sales positions and men for certain office positions.
When the HR employees opposed the practice and insisted on consideration of all qualified job applicants regardless of sex, Landmark Dodge retaliated against them by making their work environment increasingly hostile and forced them to quit. Company records showed that from the fall of 2017 through at least April 2019, Landmark Dodge hired no women for sales positions and no men for the office jobs. During the lawsuit, the EEOC identified more than a dozen women and men whom Landmark Dodge refused to hire because of their sex.
The company’s alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sex, including the use of sex-based preferences in hiring decisions, as well as retaliation for opposing sex discrimination. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
The five-year consent decree settling the suit and entered by the court prohibits Landmark Dodge from discriminating against persons because of sex and from retaliating against people who oppose discrimination in the future; requires the company to adopt procedures to ensure hiring managers do not consider the applicant’s sex when hiring; and ensures that all Landmark Dodge employees receive training on those procedures. The company will pay monetary compensation totaling $275,000 to six women denied sales jobs, eight men denied office jobs, and the two HR employees. In addition, for the decree’s duration, Landmark Dodge must provide quarterly reports to the EEOC regarding its hiring practices.
Alabama Endangerers
The city of Huntsville is set to pay $256,500 to the widow of a Public Works employee killed in a crash back in July.
The Huntsville City Council voted to approve this settlement during Thursday night’s city council meeting.
Hank Hornbuckle was a passenger in a vehicle with two other city employees on U.S. 231 in Marshall County when they left the roadway, overturned, and struck a tree. Hornbuckle died at the scene. The two other city employees were injured and taken to Huntsville Hospital.
Here is the city of Huntsville’s statement regarding the settlement:
“The City of Huntsville has reached an agreement with the widow of Hank Hornbuckle to settle her claim arising out of the tragic motor vehicle accident of July 1, 2025, in which Mr. Hornbuckle died, and two other City employees were seriously injured. The settlement received Council approval on Aug. 28, 2025.
“The agreement was reached under the provisions of Alabama’s Workers’ Compensation Act. It was a priority of the City to promptly reach a resolution of the claim to address the financial needs of the widow arising out of the untimely loss of her husband. While no monetary sum would be sufficient to offset the loss she has experienced, the proposed settlement is responsive to the widow’s needs and fair to the City of Huntsville, as well.”
Union Busters
Brought to you by LaborLab: The nation’s leading watchdog standing with working families to stop employer coercion and intimidation. Visit www.laborlab.us for more info.
Here are the new filings from this week:
- Marine Acquisition Corp and SeaStar Solutions dba Dometic (IL) hired GRCA
- Precision Castparts Corp (OR) hired Labor Information Services for $325/hour
As a reminder, due to a lack of enforcement, some labor relations consultants may disregard the law and fail to report their activities to the U.S. Department of Labor. Therefore, it’s crucial for organizers and workers to report suspected “persuader” activity to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). You can reach them via email at OLMS-Public@dol.gov, by calling (202) 693-0123, or by contacting your nearest OLMS District Office.
For assistance, please contact LaborLab at contact@laborlab.us.