In September 2004, the New York District Office of the EEOC filed this suit against Jones Apparel Group, Inc. and Nine West Footwear Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging discrimination on the basis of sex and national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the defendant subjected the charging party, a female Hispanic employee, to sexual harassment consisting of solicitations for sex, offensive comments, and unwelcome touching. In addition, the defendant subjected the charging party to a hostile work environment on the basis of national origin as well, making offensive and demeaning comments that ridiculed her because she was Hispanic. The defendant also retaliated against the charging party after she complained of the harassment by threatening to fire her and further harassing her, resulting in her constructive discharge. After a few scheduling orders, the parties submitted a preliminary consent decree for approval in September 2005, but they did not reach a final agreement until May 2006 when the final consent decree was approved by the Court.

The three-year decree, containing non-discrimination and non-retaliation clauses, required the defendant to: post a notice of resolution, maintain and distribute anti-discrimination policies and complaint procedures, provide annual EEO training for all employees, and report to the EEOC at specified intervals. In addition, the defendant agreed to pay $600,000 into a Claims Fund to be distributed to the victims of sexual harassment, national origin harassment or retaliation and to provide the charging party with a neutral reference. The docket sheet doesn't show any further enforcement took place; the case was presumably closed in 2009.

Michele Marxkors - 06/15/2007
- 06/11/2017


compress summary