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July 24, 2008

Sex bias cost Tunnel Hill company $12,000

From Staff Reports

West Roofing Systems-Georgia Inc. of Tunnel Hill has settled a sex discrimination lawsuit for $12,000 and must now actively recruit women, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said Thursday.

A phone message left for West Roofing Systems Thursday afternoon was not immediately returned.

In the lawsuit the EEOC claimed Tomeka Evans had applied for a temporary laborer position with the company when it was working on a project in Fort Lawn, S.C. The EEOC said when Evans reported to the work site after being told she was hired she was told she could not be hired because she is a woman. Sex discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC said.

Under the settlement, West Roofing Systems must:

• Actively recruit women into jobs for which they have traditionally been excluded.

• Redistribute its anti-discrimination policy and provide annual training to managers, supervisors and employees on Title VII.

• Post an employee notice about the lawsuit and employee rights under federal anti-discrimination laws.

• Provide periodic compliance reports to the EEOC.

A phone number for Evans could not be found.

“Every individual deserves the freedom to compete in the workplace on a fair and level playing field, without discriminatory barriers,” said attorney Lynette A. Barnes of the EEOC’s Charlotte, N.C., district office in a press release. “This includes qualified female applicants who are trying to make inroads into male-dominated industries. Title VII is intended to protect women as they attempt to move into traditionally male occupations.”

The lawsuit was filed by the EEOC in September 2005 in federal court in South Carolina. The agency said it tried to reach a voluntary settlement out of court.

For more information on the EEOC, visit www.eeoc.gov.

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