M. Slavin & Sons Fish, a Bronx fish market, has agreed to pay $900,000 to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The lawsuit alleged that management at the company’s Brooklyn facility routinely subjected more than 30 black and African male loaders and drivers to sexual and racial harassment and retaliated against employees who complained.
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Download NowEEOC charged that M. Slavin’s owners and managers harassed the employees from 1984 onward by physically groping them, making explicit sexual comments and using offensive racial terms. Many of the men worked for M. Slavin for 10 to 20 years and endured this treatment because they desperately needed the work, EEOC claimed.
In addition to the monetary relief, M. Slavin agreed to submit to 5 years of monitoring by the EEOC; retain an independent EEO coordinator to investigate complaints; conduct one-on-one training for the worst harassers; and provide annual training for all staff.
“It is especially difficult to fashion effective relief when harassment is conducted by owners of the company,” said Elizabeth Grossman, EEOC regional attorney. “M. Slavin is obligated to bring on board an outside professional who will bring much needed oversight” to the company’s operations, Grossman said.