Want to avoid being a defendant in an EEOC lawsuit?

One of the easiest ways to find out what’s on the EEOC’s radar is to keep tabs on the lawsuits it’s filing. Here’s the latest, all from just the past week:

Accommodate Reasonable Religious Requests

Four Caribbean Rastafarian public safety officers asked for religious accommodation because their dreadlocks didn’t fit under their hats as required by company policy. When the employer refused, the employees filed claims for religious and national origin discrimination.

In another case, the EEOC sued an employer for refusing to allow a hairstylist to take off Sundays, despite her request to do so based on “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

The verdicts: $40,000 settlement in the dreadlocks case and $26,500 settlement in the stylist case, plus injunctive relief including revised policies and training in both cases.

The EEOC’s take: “Employers are obligated to explore how they may accommodate employees’ or applicants’ religious beliefs. In addition to time off for religious services, this may also include accommodations such as allowing time and space for prayer during the workday or, as in this case, making adjustments to grooming and uniform policies.”

Click here and here for more.

Don’t Retaliate

 An employer’s only African-American manager complained about unfair treatment. The employer allegedly responded by retaliating against the employee, giving him an unfavorable performance evaluation, putting him on an overly burdensome performance plan and allowing him to be subjected to racial slurs.

In another case, the EEOC sued an employer for allegedly firing an employee in retaliation for her filing a sex discrimination charge.

The verdicts: $40,000 settlement plus equitable relief in the first case and $84,750 settlement in the second case. Click here and here for more.

Reasonably Accommodate Disabilities

The EEOC sued an employer for allegedly refusing to provide accommodations that would have allowed an employee diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease to continue a successful sales career. The requested accommodations included moving the employee closer to his assistant to reduce walking and providing computer equipment to reduce writing. Instead of agreeing to the requests, the employer allegedly put the employee on a performance plan due to falling sales and then fired him before the 90-day improvement period expired.

The verdict: $65,000 settlement plus injunctive relief including revised policies and training for all employees. Click here for more.

Address Harassment Immediately

Seven female restaurant employees complained of sexual harassment by male co-workers. When the employer allegedly “did nothing to stop or prevent the abuse,” the employees sued.

The verdict: $60,000 plus injunctive relief including revised policies and training for all employees. Click here for more.

Don’t RIF Wrong

An employer allegedly terminated six African-American employees under the guise of a layoff and then immediately hired Hispanic employees to replace each of them. The EEOC sued for race and national origin discrimination.

The verdict: $44,700 plus injunctive relief. Click here for more.

Don’t let this happen to you. In addition to monetary and injunctive relief, the negative PR resulting from media coverage of the EEOC’s press releases can cripple a company.

Stay tuned for more valuable lessons from the EEOC.