Aurora Car Dealer Lands In Federal Court Over Sex Discrimination Investigation

Gender-based complaints are still on the rise.   According to Kimberly Ryan’s Hot Button Report, a local car dealer in Aurora failed to respond to subpoenas from the EEOC regarding sex discrimination allegations. Kimberly writes:

A female dealership employee alleged that Empire Lakewood Nissan terminated her after she made reports of sex discrimination and sexual harassment. She claims male employees called her derogatory names and placed offensive graffiti about her at the dealership. Several male employees undermined her authority by refusing to take work assignments from her, according to the EEOC.

The EEOC claims the dealership failed to take appropriate action against the harassers. When Empire Lakewood Nissan did terminate the primary harasser, the dealership also terminated the female employee, citing a “lay off” of one person. The dealership then hired someone else to fill her position, even though she had volunteered to cut her hours to keep her job, according to court papers.

The EEOC subpoenaed the dealership, seeking documents reflecting complaints of harassment and what action was taken in response to them, but Empire Lakewood Nissan failed to respond.

Here’s the takeaway for Denver area employers:

1.  Make SURE you have clear policies in place regarding discrimination in the workplace.

2. Be sure your employees are trained and understand those policies – so they don’t land your company in hot water.

3.  Get expert HR and legal help right away – ignoring a subpoena  is never a good idea.  You’ll improve your outcome if you can show GOOD FAITH that your company is making an full effort to comply with all local, state and federal regulations.