The Dillard's department store chain has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit accusing the company of failing to take appropriate action after female employees alleged that an assistant store manger harassed them.
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Download NowIn the lawsuit, the EEOC alleged that an assistant store manager sexually harassed women at two Dillard's stores. The EEOC alleged that Dillard's knew about female employees' complaints at the Palmdale, California, store but failed to take appropriate action. Instead, Dillard's transferred the assistant store manager to its Westminster, Colorado, store and failed to notify the new store about the allegations, the agency said.
Moreover, after a female employee at the Colorado store complained to her store manager that the transferred assistant manager inappropriately touched her, the company gave him a verbal warning only, the EEOC alleged. The agency said that the company finally fired the man after another young female employee accused him of harassing her and police were contacted.
In addition to paying $500,000, the company agreed to provide sexual harassment training to employees and management officials, including training for managers on how to properly investigate sexual harassment allegations. Dillard's further agreed that if it transfers an employee from one store to another after it receives a sexual harassment complaint about the employee, the new store will be advised of the complaint.
In settling the lawsuit, the company continued to deny the allegations.