EEOC sues 99 Cents supermarket

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against 99 Cents Supermarket, which operates on Saipan, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The EEOC alleges that the store manager subjected female employees to sex harassment and that the employer retaliated against one employee by not renewing her work contract because she complained about the harassment. The sex harassment allegedly included unwelcome touching when the store manager repeatedly slapped female employees on their buttocks either with his hand or with a textile tube.

Although the company owners received notice of the harassment, the company failed to take appropriate action to investigate and correct any sexual harassment, EEOC said. Instead, the complaining employee lost her job.

EEOC’s Regional Attorney Anna Park said, “The EEOC is committed to protecting employees whose employers retaliate against them for exercising their rights against discrimination. All workers—local and nonresident—have the right to work in an environment free of daily harassment and retaliation. We encourage victims of harassment and retaliation to step forward and notify the EEOC.”

The EEOC filed the suit (EEOC v. 99 Cents Supermarket, Inc., et al, CV 08-0019) in U.S. District Court for the District of the Northern Mariana Islands, after first attempting a voluntary settlement.

The Commission seeks lost wages, compensation for emotional distress, punitive damages, and injunctive relief to prevent and correct any future workplace discrimination.

EEOC Honolulu Local Director Timothy Riera said, “No one should have to endure being sexually harassed to earn a paycheck or keep their employment. The failure to renew the employment contract of an employee complaining about sex harassment is a problem that immigrant workers face. The EEOC works to ensure equal job opportunity for all workers.”

In addition to enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color religion, sex (including sexual harassment or pregnancy) or national origin and protects employees who complain about such offenses from retaliation, the EEOC enforces the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act of 1963; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the federal sector; Title I of the American with Disabilities Act, which prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments; and sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

Further information about the Commission is available on the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov. [B][I](EEOC)[/I][/B]