by Art Gutman Ph.D., Professor, Florida Institute of Psychology
On March 17, 2010, the EEOC announced a settlement of $115,000 with Administaff, a nationwide staffing employer (EEOC v. Administaff Inc., D. Md., No. L09-cv-2881, consent decree entered 3/15/10) A link to this settlement may be found here. The case involved harassment of two Jewish employees (the Jacobson brothers). Some of the language here is pretty salty, such as “dirty Jew,” “dumb Jew,” and other anti-Semitic epithets by managers and co-workers. The EEOC alleged that the harassment occurred over a two-year time fame beginning in September 2005. Other acts included defacing Scott Jacobson’s care with a swastika, and one incident in which he was forced into a dumpster while managers watched on a surveillance camera. Administaff agreed to post notices describing the settlement and to provide at least two hours of training to employees and supervisors. IMO, it should be more like a group-wide week-long training seminar.
