Case: EEOC v. Sara Lee Knit Products, Inc.

1:00-cv-00088 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Filed Date: April 24, 2000

Closed Date: Dec. 11, 2000

Clearinghouse coding complete

Case Summary

The Washington and Raleigh offices of the EEOC brought this suit against Sara Lee Corporation in April 2000 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The complaint alleged racial discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In May 2000, the defendant filed a motion to consolidate this case with 1:99-cv-00086 (W.D.N.C. 1999). The motion was granted in June 2000, and the parties engaged in mediation in October 2000. The parties settled, and a consent decree was entered in December 2000. The two-year consent decree required the defendant to hold annual Title VII training for all employees; post notice of Title VII rights; refrain from discrimination and retaliation; expunge the charging party's employment record; and send semiannual reports to the EEOC on allegations of discrimination. The charging party was awarded monetary relief in another agreement, which is not available.

Summary Authors

Justin Kanter (8/6/2008)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13910456/parties/eeoc-v-sara-lee-corporation/

Judge(s)

Cogburn, Max Oliver (North Carolina)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Sumter, Geraldine (North Carolina)

Attorney for Defendant

Loftis, William Randolph (North Carolina)

Piekarski, Virginia A. (North Carolina)

Judge(s)

Cogburn, Max Oliver (North Carolina)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Sumter, Geraldine (North Carolina)

Attorney for Defendant

Loftis, William Randolph (North Carolina)

Piekarski, Virginia A. (North Carolina)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Documents in this case

1:00-cv-00088	Docket (PACER) EEOC v. Sara Lee Corporation	Dec. 11, 2000	Dec. 11, 2000 Docket
1 1:00-cv-00088	Complaint Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sara Lee Knit Products, Inc.	April 24, 2000	April 24, 2000 Complaint
1:00-cv-00088	EEOC Files Discrimination Suit Against Sara Lee Knit Products, Inc. EEOC v. Sara Lee Corporation No Court	April 25, 2000	April 25, 2000 Press Release
13 1:00-cv-00088	Consent Decree Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sara Lee Corporation	Dec. 11, 2000	Dec. 11, 2000 Settlement Agreement
	Student Memo on Consolidation No Court		None Other

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Resources

Resources related to this case
Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
Under the Radar: Visibility and the Effects of Discrimination Lawsuits in Small and Large Firms Carly Knight, Frank Dobbin, Alexandra Kalev	Research on how discrimination lawsuits affect corporate diversity has yielded mixed results. Qualitative studies highlight the limited efficacy of lawsuits in the typical workplace, finding that lit…	March 2022	April 1, 2022 https://cris.tau.ac.il/...

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13910456/eeoc-v-sara-lee-corporation/

Last updated Nov. 4, 2025, 3:12 p.m.

Docket for: EEOC v. Sara Lee Corporation

ECF Number	Date	Description	Link
1	May 7, 1999	COMPLAINT Filing Fee $ 150.00 Receipt # 86810 (jhg) (Entered: 05/12/1999)	Clearinghouse
	May 7, 1999	SUMMONS(ES) issued for Sara Lee Corporation (jhg) (Entered: 05/12/1999)	PACER
	May 12, 1999	Consent to Trial by Magistrate Form mailed by Clerk to counsel of record (jhg) (Entered: 05/12/1999)	PACER
2	June 3, 1999	CONSENT/REFUSAL to Magistrate Jurisdiction by Jeffrey Hemphill - consent (jhg) (Entered: 06/04/1999)	PACER
3	June 7, 1999	ANSWER to Complaint by Sara Lee Corporation (Attorney W. R. Loftis Jr., Virginia A. Piekarski), (pdf) (Entered: 06/08/1999)	PACER
4	June 21, 1999	CONSENT/REFUSAL to Magistrate Jurisdiction by Sara Lee Corporation - consent (jhg) (Entered: 06/21/1999)	PACER
	June 21, 1999	CASE reassigned to Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. (jhg) (Entered: 06/21/1999)	PACER
	June 21, 1999	CASE NO LONGER REFERRED TO Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr.; Case transferred to Magistrate Cogburng. (jhg) (Entered: 06/21/1999)	PACER
5	July 2, 1999	Certificate of I.A.C. by plaintiff Jeffrey Hemphill, defendant Sara Lee Corporation (jhg) (Entered: 07/02/1999)	PACER
	July 2, 1999	NOTICE of Hearing: set for IPC at 7/27/99 (jhg) (Entered: 07/02/1999)	PACER
6	July 9, 1999	PROTECTIVE ORDER ( signed by Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ) [EOD DATE: 7/9/99] (pdf) (Entered: 07/09/1999)	PACER
	July 26, 1999	Case file sent to Judge Cogburn's office (jhg) (Entered: 07/26/1999)	PACER
7	July 28, 1999	INITIAL PRETRIAL ORDER Discovery deadline is 4/1/00 Motion filing deadline is 5/1/00 Mediation due: 4/1/00 Jury Trial set for 7/5/00 ETT: 3-5 days ( signed by Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ) (jhg) (Entered: 07/28/1999)	PACER
	July 28, 1999	Case file returned to clerk's office (jhg) (Entered: 07/28/1999)	PACER
8	Jan. 18, 2000	MOTION by Sara Lee Corporation to Compel Discovery (jhg) (Entered: 01/18/2000)	PACER
9	Jan. 18, 2000	MEMORANDUM by Sara Lee Corporation in support of [8-1] motion to Compel Discovery by Sara Lee Corporation (jhg) (Entered: 01/18/2000)	PACER
10	Jan. 31, 2000	RESPONSE by Jeffrey Hemphill to [8-1] motion to Compel Discovery by Sara Lee Corporation (jhg) (Entered: 02/01/2000)	PACER
	Feb. 1, 2000	Case file sent to Judge Cogburn's office (jhg) (Entered: 02/01/2000)	PACER
11	Feb. 18, 2000	ORDER denying pltf's Motion to Compel Discovery ( signed by Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ) [EOD DATE: 2/22/00] (jhg) (Entered: 02/22/2000)	PACER
	Feb. 18, 2000	Case file returned to clerk's office (jhg) (Entered: 02/22/2000)	PACER
12	Feb. 25, 2000	AMENDED ORDER denying [8-1] motion to Compel Discovery ( signed by Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ) [EOD DATE: 2/28/00] (jhg) (Entered: 02/28/2000)	PACER
14	March 2, 2000	ORDER granting [13-1] motion to Extend Time to complete discovery, reset Discovery deadline to 6/1/00 , reset Motion Filing deadline to 7/1/00 , and reset Jury Trial for 9/1/00 before Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ( signed by Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ) [EOD DATE: 3/3/00] (jhg) (Entered: 03/03/2000)	PACER
15	May 4, 2000	NOTICE of Motion by Sara Lee Corporation (jhg) (Entered: 05/04/2000)	PACER
	May 18, 2000	Case file sent to Judge Cogburn's office (jhg) (Entered: 05/18/2000)	PACER
16	May 31, 2000	MOTION by Jeffrey Hemphill to Extend Time , and reset Motion Filing deadline referred to: Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. (jhg) (Entered: 06/02/2000)	PACER
17	June 8, 2000	ORDER granting deft's motion to Consolidate Actions 1:99cv86 and 1:00cv88; denying [16-1] motion to Extend Time, denying [16-2] motion reset Motion Filing deadline, and reset for IPC at 6/21/00 before Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ( signed by Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ) [EOD DATE: 6/8/00] (jhg) (Entered: 06/08/2000)	PACER
	June 8, 2000	Case file returned to clerk's office (jhg) (Entered: 06/08/2000)	PACER
	June 8, 2000	Consolidated Lead Case (jhg) (Entered: 06/09/2000)	PACER
	June 12, 2000	NOTICE of Hearing: reset for IPC at 2:00 6/19/00 before Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. (jhg) (Entered: 06/12/2000)	PACER
	June 12, 2000	Case file sent to Judge Cogburn's office (jhg) (Entered: 06/12/2000)	PACER
18	June 22, 2000	INITIAL PRETRIAL ORDER IPC held 2:00 6/19/00 Discovery deadline is 9/29/00 Motion filing deadline is 10/30/00 Mediation due: 9/29/00 Jury Trial set for 3/6/01 before Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ETT: 3-4 days ( signed by Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ) (jhg) (Entered: 06/23/2000)	PACER
	June 22, 2000	Case file returned to clerk's office (jhg) (Entered: 06/23/2000)	PACER
19	Oct. 25, 2000	Certificate of completion of ADR session Session Type: mediation, Result: settled - Terminated (pdf) (Entered: 10/31/2000)	PACER
20	Nov. 20, 2000	STIPULATION of dismissal ( Judgment Vol.: 82 Page: 2) (jhg) (Entered: 11/21/2000)	PACER
	Nov. 20, 2000	Case closed (jhg) (Entered: 11/21/2000)	PACER
21	Dec. 11, 2000	CONSENT DECREE by defendant Sara Lee Corporation (Magistrate Max O. Cogburn, Jr.) Judgment Volume 82 Page 28 (jhg) (Entered: 12/12/2000)	PACER

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Case Details

State / Territory:

North Carolina

Case Type(s):

Equal Employment

Special Collection(s):

EEOC Study — in sample

Multi-LexSum (in sample)

Key Dates

Filing Date: April 24, 2000

Closing Date: Dec. 11, 2000

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on behalf of one or more workers.

Plaintiff Type(s):

EEOC Plaintiff

Private Plaintiff

Attorney Organizations:

EEOC

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Private Entity/Person

Sara Lee Corporation

Case Details

Causes of Action:

Title VII (including PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e

Other Dockets:

Western District of North Carolina 1:00-cv-00088

Western District of North Carolina 1:99-cv-00086

Available Documents:

Complaint (any)

Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief

Trial Court Docket

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed

Relief Granted:

Damages

Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement

Source of Relief:

Settlement

Form of Settlement:

Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree

Content of Injunction:

Discrimination Prohibition

Expungement of Employment Record

Monitoring

Post/Distribute Notice of Rights / EE Law

Provide antidiscrimination training

Reporting

Retaliation Prohibition

Order Duration: 2000 - 2002

Issues

Discrimination Area:

Disparate Treatment

Harassment / Hostile Work Environment

Discrimination Basis:

Race discrimination

Affected Race(s):

Black

EEOC-centric:

Direct Suit on Merits

Recommended Citation

Case Summary of EEOC v. Sara Lee Knit Products, Inc., Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/6446/ (last updated 8/6/2008).

Case: EEOC v. Sara Lee Knit Products, Inc.

1:00-cv-00088 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina

Case Summary

Related Cases

People

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Resources

Docket

Docket for: EEOC v. Sara Lee Corporation

Case Details