The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Friday announced it filed a lawsuit against Workplace Staffing Solutions LLC, a Louisiana company operating an office in Gulfport, Miss. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 28, alleges the firm violated federal law by failing to hire at least 34 qualified women for temporary residential trashcan collector positions in Harrison County, Miss., because of their sex.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages, including back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, hiring into the positions wrongfully denied the female applicants, where appropriate, and injunctive relief.

According to EEOC's lawsuit, a qualified female applied for an open temporary position as a temporary residential trashcan collector in Harrison County in September 2012, but was told that the position was a "male only" job and prevented from applying. The agency charges that at least 33 other qualified women applied for these positions, or any available position, but were never hired or offered a position. The EEOC claims that Workplace Staffing hired up to 130 men for these positions but no women.

"The law demands that women receive equal employment opportunities," said C. Emanuel Smith, regional attorney for EEOC's Birmingham District office. "Employers are not allowed to presume that women would not be interested in or capable of performing certain types of jobs. This lawsuit should remind employers that EEOC will take action when a company impermissibly makes hiring decisions based on gender stereotypes."

Staffing Industry Analysts was unable to reach Workplace Staffing Solutions for comment.

The EEOC filed the lawsuit in US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi after EEOC's Mobile Local Office completed its investigation and after the agency first attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.