On May 27, 2003, the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh offices of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit under Title VII against PJAX, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The EEOC alleged that the defendants, an interstate trucking and freight firm, had violated Title VII by subjecting their female employees to sexual harassment in the workplace. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the defendants created a hostile work environment and failed to promote qualified females.

On October 6, 2003, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss. The court never ruled on that motion because on November 24, 2003, the parties filed a consent decree, which the court approved two days later. This consent decree has an effective period of two years and required the defendant to pay $300,000.00 in compensatory damages to the complainant and $200,000.00 in compensatory damages to four other complainants, to be distributed pro-rata. It also states that the defendants were enjoined from discriminating or retaliating against any of their employees on the basis of sex. They agreed to revise their anti-discrimination policy, and to provide their employees with equal employment opportunity training. Additionally, the defendants were required to distribute their revised policies and to post notice of EEO rights.

Keri Livingston - 05/13/2008


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