In September 2003, the EEOC's Area Office for the State of Oklahoma brought this suit against Great Plains Coca-Cola Bottling, Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma alleging discrimination on the basis of sex and religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The defendant subjected the charging parties, female employees, and other similarly situated individuals to a sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against them by subjecting them to further harassment, resulting in the constructive discharge of some of the employees. Eight separate charging parties attempted to intervene in the suit; however, only six of them were successful, intervening in October 2003. After some discovery and scheduling orders, the case was referred to mediation. In August 2004, the parties settled through a consent decree.

The three-year decree prohibited the defendant from discriminating and retaliating. In addition, it required the defendant to: post an EEOC-provided notice, implement anti-retaliation policies, develop a complaint procedure for charges of discrimination, provide annual Title VII training for all employees, and report to the EEOC at specified intervals. The defendant also agreed to pay $535,000 and to expunge the charging parties' personnel files of all references to the discrimination charges.

Michele Marxkors - 06/18/2007


compress summary