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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2023
FEDERAL COURT AWARDS MORE THAN $2.6 MILLION TO EEOC AGAINST GREEN JOBWORKS LLC
Staffing Company Excluded Female Workers From Specific Job Assignments and Duties, Federal Agency Charged
BALTIMORE – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has obtained a default judgment in U.S. District Court in its sex discrimination lawsuit against Green JobWorks LLC, the federal agency announced today.
The EEOC filed the lawsuit on July 13, 2021, against Green JobWorks LLC, a staffing agency located in Hanover, Maryland, for violating federal law by subjecting female workers to a pattern-or-practice of sex discrimination in job assignments and assignment of work duties. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Green JobWorks refused to hire female workers for demolition and laborer positions or to assign those workers to such positions because of their sex. The lawsuit also charged that Green JobWorks assigned certain work duties on the basis of sex.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment, including refusing to hire or to make assignments on the basis of gender. The EEOC filed suit (U.S. EEOC v. Green Jobworks LLC, Civil Action No. 1:21-cv-01743-RDB) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (Northern Division) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
On March 16, the federal court in Baltimore entered default judgment against Green JobWorks, establishing the company’s liability for its pattern or practice of sex discrimination and awarding 48 female workers a total of $2,692,265 in monetary relief, consisting of $665,566 in lost wages with interest and an additional $2,026,698 in punitive damages for the company’s reckless indifference to the rights of those workers.
“It has been almost 60 years since the passage of Title VII, yet many staffing agencies continue to believe that they can indulge discriminatory customer preferences and engage in stereotype-based selection practices with impunity – and they’re wrong,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence. “The EEOC will continue to carefully scrutinize the conduct of staffing agencies and employers in construction-related industries and the skilled trades, and the agency will take forceful action to redress violations of federal law.”
Philadelphia District Director Jamie Williamson added, “Women workers in construction, skilled trades and other so-called ‘non-traditional’ occupations deserve every opportunity to earn a living and show their value on the jobsite. Employers should recognize and value the contributions that women make in those fields when they’re given an equal opportunity to demonstrate their skills. Non-discrimination is required by law, but it’s also just smart business practices.”
The lawsuit was commenced by the EEOC’s Baltimore Field Office, one of four component offices of the agency’s Philadelphia District Office. The Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.
For more information on sex-based discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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