EEOC Vs. Kintetsu International Express
Kintetsu International Express
Employment laws are designed to help protect employees from discrimination in the workplace. The sad truth is that in many cases not only are discriminatory actions occurring in the workplace, but when they are reported there are retaliatory actions made toward the reporting employees. This is where an experienced and knowledgeable employment lawyer such as Ty Hyderally can step in and litigate on behalf of the victim(s). Individuals are provided protection under employment laws and when they are violated, employers many times must not only pay huge monetary amounts because of damages; but many times they are closely monitored by the EEOC to ensure that they handle future complaints correctly. In this case of discrimination and retaliation, the company had to create its own policies and training programs to ensure that these types of actions would no longer occur within their company.
EEOC vs. Kintetsu International Express
Yuko Lesher worked at Kintetsu in 2005 and 2006 as a tour coordinator. Because of a disability, Lesher walks with difficulty about which her supervisor continuously harassed her. Lesher’s supervisor made embarrassing remarks about how she walked and made fun of her for her limp. Lesher eventually required surgery due to her condition and according to the EEOC’s allegations, her supervisor would not schedule her back to work after her recovery; the human resource department eventually intervened.
Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
Nozomi Hoshi was a coworker with Lesher and witnessed the harassment and discrimination which the parties reported to the vice president of the company. Not only was there no corrective actions taken, both workers received poor performance ratings. Prior to reporting discrimination and harassment both workers had exemplary work evaluations. According to the EEOC, Lesher continued to be harassed and eventually was forced to resign as a retaliatory action for reporting the disability harassment and discrimination to the company’s management. Upon hearing about Hoshi’s complaint to the company’s vice president, the supervisor forced Hoshi to write a letter of apology under the threat of termination. Hoshi was eventually also forced to resign as a retaliatory action for reporting discrimination.
EEOC Launches an Investigation
After an investigation, the EEOC attempted to reach a settlement with the company prior to litigation. When no settlement was reached initially, the EEOC filed a suit in the US District Court for the District of Hawaii. Disability discrimination and retaliation for complaining about discrimination are in violation of the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act. Eventually, in an attempt to keep the case from further litigation, the company agreed to a settlement.
Company’s Responsibility
The parties did reach a settlement which required a 3-year consent decree in which Kintetsu is required to hire an EEO (equal employment opportunity) consultant who will monitor how the company complies with the ADA. Kintetsu will also create new policies and procedures which are designed to directly address disability discrimination. Additionally, the company will have to train all of their employees on ADA each year as well as offering live training for any personnel working in the management or human resource departments so that they can effectively deal with any future complaints pertaining to disability discrimination, harassment or retaliation. Not only will the company have to provide monetary relief for those victimized, they will be required to track any future complaints by creating their own tracking system which also contains specific guidelines and disciplinary policies which will hold employees directly accountable for discriminatory actions. The EEOC will continue to monitor the company to ensure that they are in full compliance with the agreement as well as how they handle any EEO complaints in the future.
EEOC vs. Kintetsu International Express
Yuko Lesher worked at Kintetsu in 2005 and 2006 as a tour coordinator. Because of a disability, Lesher walks with difficulty about which her supervisor continuously harassed her. Lesher’s supervisor made embarrassing remarks about how she walked and made fun of her for her limp. Lesher eventually required surgery due to her condition and according to the EEOC’s allegations, her supervisor would not schedule her back to work after her recovery; the human resource department eventually intervened.
Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation
Nozomi Hoshi was a coworker with Lesher and witnessed the harassment and discrimination which the parties reported to the vice president of the company. Not only was there no corrective actions taken, both workers received poor performance ratings. Prior to reporting discrimination and harassment both workers had exemplary work evaluations. According to the EEOC, Lesher continued to be harassed and eventually was forced to resign as a retaliatory action for reporting the disability harassment and discrimination to the company’s management. Upon hearing about Hoshi’s complaint to the company’s vice president, the supervisor forced Hoshi to write a letter of apology under the threat of termination. Hoshi was eventually also forced to resign as a retaliatory action for reporting discrimination.
EEOC Launches an Investigation
After an investigation, the EEOC attempted to reach a settlement with the company prior to litigation. When no settlement was reached initially, the EEOC filed a suit in the US District Court for the District of Hawaii. Disability discrimination and retaliation for complaining about discrimination are in violation of the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act. Eventually, in an attempt to keep the case from further litigation, the company agreed to a settlement.
Company’s Responsibility
The parties did reach a settlement which required a 3-year consent decree in which Kintetsu is required to hire an EEO (equal employment opportunity) consultant who will monitor how the company complies with the ADA. Kintetsu will also create new policies and procedures which are designed to directly address disability discrimination. Additionally, the company will have to train all of their employees on ADA each year as well as offering live training for any personnel working in the management or human resource departments so that they can effectively deal with any future complaints pertaining to disability discrimination, harassment or retaliation. Not only will the company have to provide monetary relief for those victimized, they will be required to track any future complaints by creating their own tracking system which also contains specific guidelines and disciplinary policies which will hold employees directly accountable for discriminatory actions. The EEOC will continue to monitor the company to ensure that they are in full compliance with the agreement as well as how they handle any EEO complaints in the future.