In March 1999, the EEOC district office in Chicago, Illinois brought this suit against Watlow Batavia, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Althought he complaint is unavailable, the consent decree states that a class of intervenors alleged that the defendant unlawfully discriminated against them when it imposed unequal treatment agaisnt Hispanics by imposing an "English-only" policy, then retaliated against them when they complained. After seven individuals intervened in the case and six statuts conferences were held, the parties settled and a consent decree was entered in September 2000.

In the consent decree, the parties agreed that the defendant would refrain from retaliating and discriminating on the basis of national origin, not implement any more "English-only" rules, pay the aggrieved partys $192,000 in damages, pay $100,000 in attorney's fees, provide EEO training, post EEO notices, and submit semiannual complaince reports. The terms of the agreement ran for two years.

Jason Chester - 06/29/2007


compress summary