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Press Release

Justice Department Settles Lawsuit Against
the City of Ecorse, Michigan, Alleging Sex Discrimination

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a consent decree with the City of Ecorse, Mich., that, if approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Mich., will resolve the Department’s complaint against Ecorse filed in July 2008.

The complaint alleged that Ecorse discriminated against Katina Haynes and Tresa Thomas, two former employees of the city, on the basis of their gender in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1954, as amended (Title VII), among other ways, by subjecting them to sexual harassment by a male supervisor, and by failing or refusing to take appropriate action to prevent and promptly correct the harassment. Title VII prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin and religion. The complaint was based on a charge of discrimination filed by Ms. Haynes with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Under the terms of the consent decree, Ecorse must distribute to all its employees copies of city policies prohibiting sex discrimination and the procedures by which its employees may submit complaints of sex discrimination. The city also must provide mandatory training to all its employees on Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination based on sex, the city’s policies prohibiting sex discrimination, and the procedures by which employees may submit complaints of sex discrimination. Further, Ecorse must pay Ms. Haynes $15,000 in compensatory damages; Ms. Thomas settled all her claims separately with the city.

"Women in the workplace have the right to earn a living without being subjected to sexual harassment, especially from their supervisors," said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Civil Rights Division is pleased that the City of Ecorse has adopted a policy against sex discrimination, agreed to provide training to its employees as to the requirements of Title VII, and provide Ms. Thomas with the relief to which she is entitled."

More information about Title VII and other federal employment laws is available on the Department of Justice Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/emp/index.html.

Updated September 15, 2014

Press Release Number: 09-325