Carmike Cinemas, Inc., a large movie theater chain operating 312 theaters in
36 states, will pay $765,000 to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit
by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging a male supervisor
harassed a group of young men at Carmike's theater located in Raleigh, North
Carolina.
For a Limited Time receive a
FREE HR Report "Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management." This comprehensive special report will give you the information you need to know about these current HR challenges and how to most effectively manage them in your workplace.
Download NowEEOC filed the suit one year ago, alleging that 14 young men working in various
positions at Carmike were subjected to unwelcome sexual touching, egregious
sexual comments, sexual advances, and requests for sexual favors from a male
supervisor, a convicted sex offender, between February and October 2003.
"Although we are filing more litigation involving teen harassment, this
case is unique because we rarely receive reports of men sexually harassing other
men--especially when the victim is a teenager," says Lynette A. Barnes,
EEOC's acting regional attorney in Charlotte.
The monetary payment of more than three quarters of a million dollars is the
largest damages amount in an EEOC teen harassment lawsuit since the agency began
tracking the issue in 2001. In addition to the monetary payout, the settlement
requires Carmike to take the following other actions at its theaters in North
Carolina and Virginia that comprise Carmike's "District 4"
:
- Distribute its sexual harassment policy to all new hires;
- Post a revised summary of its sexual harassment policy at those same theaters;
- Provide annual training concerning sexual harassment and unlawful retaliation
to all its managers, supervisors and new hires within District 4; and
- Carmike must post an Employee Notice at its District 4 theaters concerning
the lawsuit and employees' rights under federal anti-discrimination laws.