In August 2004, the Houston District Office of the EEOC filed this lawsuit against the car dealership WC&M Enterprises Inc., doing business as Streater-Smith Honda, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, alleging discrimination on the basis of national origin and religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the complainant, a muslim from India, was subjected to a hostile work environment and fired in retaliation for complaining about it. Following some discovery, the defendant successfully moved for summary judgment in October 2005. The EEOC appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2005. The Fifth Circuit reversed and remanded the decision back to the U.S. District Court in October 2007. Shortly thereafter, the parties settled the lawsuit through a consent decree.

The two-year consent decree, containing an agreement not to discriminate or retaliate, required the defendant to: make annual compliance reports, apologize to the complainant, expunge the complainant's employment record, provide a neutral reference, post notice of employee rights, provide EEO training, and pay $13,500 to the complainant.

David Friedman - 04/17/2008


compress summary