Sexual Harassment Victim Fired For Complaining About Same-Sex Harassment EEOC Lawsuit Claims

For more than twenty years, our Marion County, Florida retaliatory termination attorneys have fought for the rights of sexual harassment victims. Having represented sexual harassment victims for decades, our Ocala, Florida retaliatory termination lawyers know that sexual harassment victims are often targeted for retaliation after lodging a sexual harassment complaint. In far too many cases, employers terminate sexual harassment victims instead of sexual harassers. In this article, our Marion County, Florida retaliatory termination attorneys explain how a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit recently filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) illustrates that federal employment discrimination law protects sexual harassment victims from retaliation when they complain about workplace sexual harassment.

Retaliation Termination Lawsuit

In a press release issued on September 30, 2021, the EEOC announced that it has filed a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Lodging Lane Hospitality, Inc., which conducts business as Home2 Suites (Lodging Lane). On September 29, 2021, the EEOC filed the sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. v. Lodging Lane Hospitality, Inc.,  Case No. 3:21-cv-00210, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. The EEOC has filed the sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) on behalf of a former employee of Lodging Lane, a woman named Brown. The EEOC claims that Lodging Lane violated Title VII by subjecting Brown to hostile work environment sexual harassment and retaliating against her when she complained about the sexual harassment.

Sexual Harassment Victims’ Rights

In its landmark decision in Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson,  477 U.S. 57 (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court held that sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII. To create a sexually hostile work environment in violation of Title VII, the Vinson Court determined, sexual harassment must be sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create a hostile or abusive working environment. In order to protect employment discrimination victims, including sexual harassment victims, Title VII contains an anti-retaliation provision. Under Title VII, it is an unlawful employment practice for employers to retaliate against employees for complaining about perceived sexual harassment in the workplace.

Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Alleged

In July 2019, Brown began working for Lodging Lane as a hotel housekeeper. In this position, Brown was supervised by a woman named Mason. The EEOC claims that Mason subjected Brown to unwanted sexually harassing behavior. Mason’s alleged sexual behavior towards Brown included sexual remarks, comments about Brown’s body, sexual propositions, and requests to rub Brown’s buttocks. Mason’s alleged sexually harassing conduct, according to the EEOC, occurred multiple times a week during Brown’s employment. During the first week of December 2019, Brown lodged a sexual harassment complaint with the manager of the hotel where she worked, a man named Golden. The EEOC alleges that Golden “minimized the complaint and laughed it off.” The EEOC further alleges that Golden failed to investigate Brown’s complaint and took no disciplinary action against Mason.

Victim Claims Fired For Complaining

The EEOC maintains that after Brown lodged her sexual harassment complaint with Golden, Mason began treating Brown unfairly. On December 13, 2019, Brown believed that she had the approval to take the day off. Mason, however, claimed that Brown did not have the approval to take the day off. Mason then fired Brown claiming that Brown was a no-call, no-show. The EEOC contends that the reason for Brown’s termination—an alleged unexcused absence—was a pretext for firing Brown because she complained about Mason’s unwanted sexually harassing behavior.

Lawyers For Workplace Retaliation Victims

The EEOC is the administrative agency of the United States government responsible for administering, interpreting, and enforcing federal employment discrimination law. In order to protect and preserve the rights guaranteed to employees under federal employment discrimination law, the EEOC files lawsuits in federal court on behalf of employment discrimination victims, including sexual harassment and retaliation victims. In a press release issued on September 30, 2021, regarding the case, the Acting Director for the EEOC’s Memphis District Office, Edmond Sims, explained that “employers who tolerate persistent sexual harassment and punish victims for exercising their rights to oppose such behavior violate federal law.”

Ocala, FL Retaliatory Termination Lawyers

Based in Ocala, Florida, and representing workers throughout Central Florida, our Marion County, Florida retaliatory termination attorneys have litigated workplace retaliation cases in Florida courts for more than two decades. If you have been retaliated against for exercising your employee rights or have questions about your protection from retaliation under federal employment discrimination law, please contact our office for a free consultation with our Ocala, Florida retaliatory termination lawyers. Our employee rights law firm takes workplace retaliation cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that there are no attorney’s fees incurred unless there is a recovery and our attorney’s fees come solely from the monetary award that you recover.