FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 1, 2021
PIRTEK USA TO PAY $85,000 TO SETTLE EEOC DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION SUIT
Company Fired Employee It Regarded as Disabled, Federal Agency Charges
ORLANDO, Fla. – Pirtek USA LLC, a fluid power system company based in Rockledge, Fla., has agreed to pay $85,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
The EEOC charged that Pirtek violated federal law by firing an employee because of a perceived disability. In late 2015, the employee was hospitalized for several weeks with pancreatitis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and pneumonia. In March 2016, the employee’s physician cleared him to return to work without restrictions. Nevertheless, Pirtek fired him, claiming that he was a “liability” and that it was afraid he would get injured on the job, the EEOC said.
Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits employers from discriminating based on disability or perceived disability. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division (EEOC v. Pirtek USA LLC, Case No. 6:19-cv-01853-CEM-GJK) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
In addition to the $85,000 in monetary relief, the three-year consent decree settling the suit requires Pirtek to develop and distribute a written policy against disability discrimination and to conduct anti-discrimination training for management and human resources personnel. Pirtek must also post a notice at its worksite about the lawsuit and submit written reports twice a year to the EEOC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 29, 2020
O’REILLY AUTOMOTIVE STORES TO PAY $165,000 TO SETTLE EEOC SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND RETALIATION SUIT
Male Managers and Employees Subjected Women to Sex Harassment at Orlando O’Reilly Store, Federal Agency Charged
ORLANDO, Fla. – O’Reilly Automotive Stores, Inc., a retail distributor of automobile parts headquartered in Springfield, Mo., with thousands of stores across the country, has agreed to pay $165,000 to three former female employees and provide equitable relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
The EEOC charged that an O’Reilly supervisor and other male employees subjected female employees at an O’Reilly store in Orlando to a hostile work environment by making sexually charged comments, including asking female employees for sex and making comments about women’s buttocks and breasts, and touching female employees inappropriately. Notwithstanding their complaints to the supervisor, store managers and corporate headquarters, the harassment did not end. One woman who complained was subjected to retaliation which forced her to resign.
Workplace sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. After first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process, the EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Orlando Division), styled EEOC v. O’Reilly Automotive Stores, Inc., Case No. 19-cv-00882-GAP-LRH, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.