In March 2006, the Atlanta District Office of the EEOC filed this suit against Oglethorpe University, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia alleging discrimination on the basis of national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the defendant enforced an "English-only" rule, requiring all its Hispanic housekeeping employees, including the three charging parties, to speak only English while working and by giving all their instructions in English. In addition, the defendant retaliated against one of the charging parties by disciplining her for her open opposition to the English-only policy, resulting in her termination. The charging parties intervened in the suit in April 2006. After much discovery, the parties participated in mediation in November 2006, and they reached a settlement through a consent decree in March 2007.

The two-year decree, containing non-discrimination and non-retaliation clauses, required the defendant to: post a Title VII notice, provide instruction regarding compliance with the decree to all management personnel, report to the EEOC every six months, provide Title VII training to its administrative personnel, and discontinue its use of the English-only policy. In addition, the defendant agreed to provide the charging parties with neutral references and pay $46,779.20. The docket sheet doesn't show any further enforcement took place; the case was presumably closed in 2009.


Michele Marxkors - 06/13/2007
- 06/13/2017


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