In December 2004, the New Orleans District Office of the EEOC brought this suit against Paragon Systems, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana alleging discrimination and retaliation on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the defendant subjected one of the charging parties, a female employee, to sexual harassment by her supervisor and a co-worker. The defendant also retaliated against her by transferring her to a less desirable shift and terminating her after she complained of the harassment. In addition, the defendant retaliated against the other charging party, a male employee, by terminating him after he gave testimony as part of the company's internal investigation of the female employee's complaint. After some scheduling orders, the parties settled through a consent decree in June 2005.

The two-year decree, containing non-discrimination and non-retaliation clauses, required the defendant to: maintain records of all complaints of Title VII discrimination, report to the EEOC at specified intervals, provide annual Title VII training, post a Title VII notice, and pay $40,000 to be distributed between the two charging parties.

Michele Marxkors - 07/10/2007


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