In March 1999, the Baltimore Office of the EEOC filed this lawsuit against R&R Ventures, doing business as Taco Bell, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. We do not have a copy of the complaint; therefore, the exact allegations involved are unknown. however, it appears from the consent decree that the complaint alleged that the defendant discriminated against the charging parties, female employees on the basis of sex by subjecting them to a sexually hostile work environment and retaliated against them following their opposition to the action. The defendant successfully moved for summary judgment, granted in March 2000. The Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded the case in May 2001 in E.E.O.C v. R&R Ventures, 244 F.3d 334 (4th Cir. 2001). The parties settled the lawsuit in February 2002, and a consent decree was entered in May 2002.

The two-year decree, containing non-discrimination and non-retaliation clauses, required the defendant to: provide only employee position and length of work for recommendation requests, post and distribute notice of employee rights, provide EEOC training, revise its sexual harassment policies, permit EEOC compliance review, submit written reports certifying compliance, and pay $60,000 to be distributed among three individuals.

Daisy Manning - 10/17/2007


compress summary