On September 21, 2006, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought this suit against Burlington Medical Supplies, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia under Title VII. While the Clearinghouse does not have a copy of the complaint, a published opinion revealed that the EEOC claimed that a pattern or practice of sexual harassment existed at Burlington, creating a hostile work environment that constituted sex discrimination. Specifically, it claimed that one of Burlington’s owners and its sales manager made sexual comments to several female employees. The EEOC sought damages for the victims and injunctive relief to prevent further discrimination.

Burlington moved for summary judgment, arguing that sexual harassment is “unsuited for class or pattern or practice treatment” because it is subjective. On November 1, 2007, Judge Walter D. Kelley Jr. denied the defendant's motion. Judge Kelley held that the EEOC could establish sex discrimination by proving that the harassment at Burlington was “unwelcome from the standpoint of a reasonable woman” and so pervasive that it would “alter the terns or conditions of a reasonable person’s employment.” 536 F. Supp. 2d 647.

The parties attended a settlement conference in early April 2008, resulting in a consent decree that Judge Kelley signed on April 29. Under the decree, Burlington would pay $70,000 and provide additional training for employees. The consent decree was set to last two years. On May 23, 2008, the court ordered the case dismissed with prejudice; however, the court maintained jurisdiction to enforce the decree.

Those two years passed without any additional filings in court. The case is now closed.

Shankar Viswanathan - 06/03/2008
Sean Whetstone - 05/21/2018


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