Blog Post: Believe it or Not... Nightmare Stories from the EEOC! Part III

So this story begins when a female employee files a police report against a prior boyfriend.  The police report stated that the ex had "physically and verbally threatened her safety." She claimed that he had "hit her."  The result of this complaint with the police in Oregon was a restraining order issued against the ex-boyfriend.    A very sticky situation as the ex-boyfriend also worked for the same company.  

Cascade asked her to have the restraining order changed so that her abuser could continue to work for the company. The female employee refused.  So, Cascade fired her from her job of over four years. 

EEOC San Francisco District Director Michael Baldonado said, “It is important that employers learn how to respond to domestic violence as it impacts the workplace. You cannot ask an employee who is in fear of a co-worker to have her court-granted restraining order altered so that the harasser can continue to work with her."

Firing employees for opposing sexual harassment is considered retaliation and violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  While the original incident did not happen in the workplace it did become a problem the workplace must deal with.  EEOC Regional Attorney William R. Tamayo noted, “Don’t make the mistake that just because an incident occurred offsite, that it doesn’t impact the workplace."

The Lesson: If you have an employee that has a restraining order against a co-worker (that they won't remove or modify)... you CANNOT terminate them for that... unless of course you want to tango with the EEOC... and have some extra cash laying around for  “monetary damages on behalf of the worker, training on anti-discrimination laws, posting of notices at the work site, and other injunctive relief."

Stay tuned for more Nightmare Stories from the EEOC!