MIFLINTOWN, Pa. (WHTM) – Weiss Markets Inc. will pay $75,000 to settle a sexual harassment and disability discrimination lawsuit filed last year by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The settlement comes after former employees at the Mifflintown store alleged that male supervisors created a hostile work environment that included inappropriate comments, winking and kissing female employees in the face without their consent.
The EEOC said another supervisor also witnessed the inappropriate behavior but “took no steps to stop it, and when female employees reported the behavior to the general manager, Weiss Markets failed to take appropriate steps to end the harassment or prevent it from recurring.”
The EEOC’s lawsuit further alleges that Weiss “required female employees to participate in the company’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), including mental health counseling, as a condition of their continued employment, even though the company did not have a reasonable belief based on objective evidence that they were unable to perform the essential functions of their jobs or posed a direct threat to themselves or others.”
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When the employee refused to participate, she was suspended and then fired, according to the EEOC.
In addition to the $75,000 settlement, Weiss was also prohibited from creating a sexually hostile work environment, from requiring employees to participate in an EAP that involves unlawful medical exams or disability-related investigations, and from taking any adverse action against employees who refuse to participate in medical exams or disability-related investigations.
Weis Markets is also required to develop a policy regarding referring employees to the EAP, provide mandatory training on Title VII, the ADA, and the new EAP policy, and report information regarding future sexual harassment complaints and revisions to the EAP policy to the EEOC.
“The EEOC commends Weis Markets for working with us and in good faith to find an appropriate resolution to this matter,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence. “This settlement provides fair compensation to affected employees in this matter and will serve Weis Markets’ employees, the company, and the public interest well into the future.”
“Employer-sponsored employee assistance programs are valuable resources where employees can seek and receive support for their personal and professional well-being, often including the provision of behavioral health services. However, for employers to require individual employees to participate would likely violate rights protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act, including the right to not be subjected to medical exams or disability-related questions that are not work-related and inconsistent with business necessity,” said EEOC Philadelphia District Director Jamie Williamson.