Filed Date: Sept. 30, 2004
Closed Date: May 17, 2009
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In September 2004, the New York District Office of the EEOC filed this suit against Jones Apparel Group, Inc. and Nine West Footwear Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging discrimination on the basis of sex and national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the defendant subjected the charging party, a female Hispanic employee, to sexual harassment consisting of solicitations for sex, offensive comments, and unwelcome touching. In addition, the defendant subjected the charging party to a hostile work environment on the basis of national origin as well, making offensive and demeaning comments that ridiculed her because she was Hispanic. The defendant also retaliated against the charging party after she complained of the harassment by threatening to fire her and further harassing her, resulting in her constructive discharge. After a few scheduling orders, the parties submitted a preliminary consent decree for approval in September 2005, but they did not reach a final agreement until May 2006 when the final consent decree was approved by the Court.
The three-year decree, containing non-discrimination and non-retaliation clauses, required the defendant to: post a notice of resolution, maintain and distribute anti-discrimination policies and complaint procedures, provide annual EEO training for all employees, and report to the EEOC at specified intervals. In addition, the defendant agreed to pay $600,000 into a Claims Fund to be distributed to the victims of sexual harassment, national origin harassment or retaliation and to provide the charging party with a neutral reference. The docket sheet doesn't show any further enforcement took place; the case was presumably closed in 2009.
Summary Authors
Michele Marxkors (6/15/2007)
Clearinghouse (6/11/2017)
Brieant, Charles L. (New York)
Arenson, Steven (New York)
Dreiband, Eric S. (District of Columbia)
Grossman, Elizabeth (New York)
Fink, Robert Franklin (New York)
Brieant, Charles L. (New York)
Last updated March 24, 2024, 3:06 a.m.
State / Territory: New York
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Sept. 30, 2004
Closing Date: May 17, 2009
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on behalf of one or more workers.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Jones Apparel Group, Inc. (White Plains, NY), Private Entity/Person
Nine West Footwear Corp. (White Plains, NY), Private Entity/Person
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Title VII (including PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Amount Defendant Pays: 600000
Order Duration: 2006 - 2009
Content of Injunction:
Develop anti-discrimination policy
Post/Distribute Notice of Rights / EE Law
Provide antidiscrimination training
Implement complaint/dispute resolution process
Issues
General:
Discrimination-area:
Discharge / Constructive Discharge / Layoff
Harassment / Hostile Work Environment
Discrimination-basis:
National origin discrimination
Affected Sex or Gender:
EEOC-centric:
National Origin/Ethnicity: