A Chicago-area staffing agency settled under a consent decree two lawsuits filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $800,000 under a consent decree, the federal agency announced. The EEOC reports $70,000 will go to the sexual harassment and retaliation victims and remaining $730,000 will be distributed evenly to a class of female employees who were not considered for certain work on the basis of their sex.

“After eight years, we were thrilled to settle this for $800,000,” said Elliot Wiczer, managing member of Wiczer & Sheldon LLC and the attorney representing Source One. “We think that is a real victory.”

The EEOC investigation began eight years ago and litigation was filed in federal court in 2011, according to Wiczer. The initial class action lawsuit sought $54 million.

“This was a very complex class action with thousands and thousands of members,” Wiczer said. “I think the EEOC saw what we saw; they are going to have a very difficult time proving their allegations.”

The EEOC lawsuits charged that Source One Staffing Inc. violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the EEOC charged that the firm engaged in the following unlawful conduct:

1. Assigned female employees to a known hostile work environment
2. Retaliated against two female employees who reported that their supervisor was making sexual advances toward them
3. Categorized jobs as “men’s work” or “women’s work” and assigned employees accordingly
4. Asked impermissible pre-employment medical questions in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act
5. Failed or refused to assign employees to certain jobs because of their race and/or national origin

The decree also requires Source One to train its employees on employees’ rights under Title VII and the ADA; report complaints of discrimination during the decree’s three-year term; change its employment policies and practices to conform to the ADA and Title VII; and post a notice of the decree at all of its locations. An independent monitor will oversee Source One’s compliance with the decree.

“The EEOC determined that Source One violated federal anti-discrimination law in multiple ways, which was alarming, and clearly required serious EEOC action,” said Julianne Bowman, director of the EEOC’s Chicago District Office. “Further, staffing agencies must understand that they are not immune from enforcement of federal anti-discrimination laws. This decree sends a strong signal to other staffing agencies that if they engage in discrimination — especially several different kinds of it — it will come at a high cost.”