The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced today that it obtained a default judgment in a gender discrimination lawsuit against Green JobWorks, a Hanover, Maryland-based staffing company. It accused the company of subjecting female workers to a pattern or practice of gender discrimination in job assignments and assignment of work duties. The default judgement awarded more than $2.6 million to 48 female workers; the amount includes more than $2.0 million in punitive damages and $665,566 in lost wages.

Green JobWorks allegedly refused to hire female workers for demolition and laborer positions — or to assign female workers to those positions — based on their gender.

The EEOC noted that such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment, including refusing to hire or to make assignments based on gender.

“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 Debra Lawrence, regional attorney at EEOC. “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.”