The Los Angeles district office of the EEOC filed this case in August 2006 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii against NCL America, Inc., a major international cruise line, and three of its affiliated corporate entities. The complaint alleged that NCL had discharged the charging parties because of their Middle Eastern origin and their Muslim religion, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In November 2006, the charging parties intervened in the suit, adding claims for discrimination and emotional distress under Hawaii state law, as well as 42 U.S.C. ß 1981. In January 2007, the defendants filed motions to dismiss the EEOC and the plaintiff-intervenors' complaints, but these motions were denied in August 2007. In August 2007, the intervenors filed a motion to consolidate this case with a private lawsuit one of them had filed against the defendant (1:07-cv-00372-SOM-BMK). This motion was granted in September 2007, and the EEOC case became the lead case.

In November 2007, the EEOC filed a motion for partial summary judgment against the defendants, which was eventually denied in February 2008. That same November, the defendants filed a flurry of summary judgment motions, four in total. These were responded too with one counter-motion for summary judgment by one of the intervenors in January 2008, two counter-motions for partial summary judgment by the EEOC in January 2008, and a counter-motion for summary judgment by the EEOC in January 2008. In February 2008 the court ruled on all the pending motions for summary judgment, denying all of them except for granting summary judgment to one of the defendants, NCL Corporation Ltd., and granting in part and denying in part the motions filed by another defendant, NCL America, Inc. That same February, the parties agreed by stipulation to dismiss the claims against another defendant, Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd. The final defendant, NCL (Bahamas) Ltd., filed a motion for summary judgment in February 2008.

In March 2008, it was announced that the remaining parties in the lawsuit had settled and that a consent decree between the plaintiffs and the remaining defendants would be forthcoming. At the same time, NCL (Bahamas) Ltd.'s motion for summary judgment was terminated, having been mooted by the settlement proceedings.

On May 15, 2008, the parties submitted a proposed consent decree and order, which the court approved on June 3, 2008 The agreement required NCL to pay $485,000, attorneys’ fees, and costs. NCL was also required to provide the plaintiffs with neutral job references, and to purge the plaintiffs’ personnel records of all information that reflected negatively on their job performance. The order prohibited defendants from discriminating on the basis of race or national origin, and from retaliation against anyone involved in a claim against them. NCL was required to hire an outside EEOC consultant to assist in reviewing and revising its policies and procedures, providing a revised policy on discrimination and retaliation to the EEOC within 60 days. The decree also mandated training for employees, record keeping, and regular reporting to the EEOC.

The decree remained in effect for two years, and the matter is now presumed closed.

Kevin Wilemon - 08/07/2008
Alexandra Gilewicz - 03/24/2018


compress summary