The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced it sued Anchor Staffing of Chicago claiming the staffing firm violated a temp worker’s civil rights when it failed to respond adequately to her complaint about sexual harassment. The agency says the staffing firm also removed the temp worker from her assignment and denied her any future work.

Sexual harassment occurred on the first day of work during an assignment at the Illinois Department of Human Services by another Anchor Staffing worker, according to the agency. The temp was slated to work as a telephone operator.

“After she complained to Anchor Staffing about the harassment, Anchor immediately removed the employee from her assignment at IDHS and failed to provide her any other work assignments, effectively firing her,” said Julianne Bowman, the EEOC’s district director in Chicago. “Punishing a harassment victim for standing up for her rights is unconscionable and unlawful, and the EEOC will fight such misconduct.”

The EEOC reported it is seeking back pay, future employment opportunities, compensatory and punitive damages, and nonmonetary measures to correct Anchor Staffing's practices in the future.

“Employees of staffing agencies, who constitute a large and growing share of the American workforce, are protected by federal civil rights laws,” said Greg Gochanour, the EEOC’s regional attorney for the Chicago District. “Like any employer, staffing agencies must react appropriately to complaints of sexual harassment. Here, Anchor Staffing responded unlawfully to an employee complaint by making her worse off when it terminated all her work assignments, both present and future.”

The case, EEOC v. Anchor Staffing Inc., Civil Action No. 17-cv-7899, was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.