Sureste Property Group Pays $75,000 to Settle EEOC Race Discrimination Lawsuit

As an employer, protecting yourself against race discrimination lawsuits filed by the EEOC is a top priority. Such lawsuits can lead to fines and a loss of reputation. In addition, EEOC consent decrees can be very difficult to deal with for many companies.

Recently, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Sureste Property Group and its divisions, SUreste Property Services and Sureste Development, a real estate operating company and asset management firm. The EEOC recovered $75,000 and required the company to furnish other relief to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed in Atlanta.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Sureste violated federal law when it fired its first and only Black project development manager because of his race. The EEOC maintained that the project development manager performed well, despite being assigned more work than his white counterparts, but the company terminated him less than a year after his hire, claiming first that he was “lazy” and then not a good fit for the company’s culture. After, the company claimed that his role had been eliminated, but less than a month after firing him, Sureste promoted a significantly less qualified white employee to the same position.

The EEOC charged that this conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits companies from discriminating against employees based on their race. 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 through its administration conciliation process.

In addition to paying the former employee $75,000 in back wages and compensatory damages, the federal court approved a three-year consent decree. The decree is binding on the named defendants and their subsidiaries, as well as future successor companies. Sureste will be required to distribute anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies, post a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement, and provide specialized training to all supervisors, managers, and employees. Sureste will also provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding complaints of race discrimination during the consent decree’s term.

Analyzing the case

 Generally speaking, most employers will offer some form of pretense for a firing that does not include the employee’s race. In this case, they said the employee was lazy and a bad fit for their culture. But then they said that the position had been eliminated. Ultimately, they filled the position with a less-qualified white employee which gave the EEOC all the ammunition it needed to take the case to court. The EEOC filed suit against the company and won compensatory damages for the employee. The company will now be under EEOC scrutiny for the next three years.

Talk to an Atlanta, GA Employment Law Attorney Today 

The Forsythe Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of employers in employment discrimination lawsuits filed by either private counsel or the EEOC. If you are facing such a lawsuit, call our Atlanta employment lawyers immediately and we can begin discussing your defense options.

Source:

eeoc.gov/newsroom/sureste-property-group-pay-75000-eeoc-race-discrimination-lawsuit