On September 21, 2006, the Chicago office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC" or "Plaintiff") filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The plaintiff sued Mediterranean Partners Inc. d/b/a The York Tavern under 42 USC §2000 (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) and 42 USC §1981a (Title I of the Civil Right Act of 1991). The plaintiff sought a permanent injunction enjoining the defendant from engaging in any employment practices that discriminated on the basis of sex; institute and carry out equal employment opportunities for its employees regardless of sex; back pay; non- and pecuniary losses; and punitive damages. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant discriminated against four female employees ("CD", "RF", "PQ", "DS") and a class of female employees on the basis of their sex, by subjecting them to sexual harassment, failing to correct the sexually hostile work environment, and constrictively discharging them.
After settlement negotiations, the parties resolved the suit by entry of a consent decree on February 27, 2008. Neither party admitted to any of the claims or defenses raised or asserted by the other in the case. The defendant was permanently enjoined from discriminating against any employee at the Oak Brook, IL facility on the basis of sex and from retaliating against any person at its Oak Brook, IL facility. The defendant was required to pay a total of $35,000 to six (6) employees and to implement anti-discrimination training for its employees.
The defendant was ordered to document, maintain and make available records of each sexual harassment complaint received by them, and file reports with EEOC for a period of two (2) years. The decree was in effect for two (2) years and the court retained the jurisdiction to enforce the decree.
Despite the ordered consent decree, the docket indicates that the parties continued litigating the central issues to the case. On March 26, 2008, the defendant filed an initial status report that indicated that it intended to file a Motion for Summary Judgment with regard to two plaintiff-intervenors' claims. The defendant argued that it was not an "employer" within the meaning of Title VII because it had not employed fifteen (15) or more employees for twenty (20) weeks of the current or preceding calendar year.
On April 14, 2008, CD filed a joint stipulation to dismiss the case without prejudice. Judge John A. Nordberg granted the stipulation as to CD only, and the case was reinstated as to all other parties. On April 30, 2008, the case was referred to Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown for discovery and settlement.
On May 20, 2008 the defendant filed a motion for summary judgement as per the initial status report of March 26, 2008.
On July 1, 2008, District Judge Nordberg dismissed the case with prejudice, and in a hearing before Magistrate Judge Brown on the same day, the case was concluded. The case appears to be closed.
Shankar Viswanathan - 05/23/2008
Joanna Kuzdra - 03/23/2018
compress summary
