Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Settled For $325,000
A sexual harassment lawsuit has been settled between the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") and defendants AmerTac Holding and American Tack & Hardware but the settlement involves no admission of guilt by the companies. The suit was filed by the EEOC in 2003 on behalf of 13 women and claimed that John Di Stefano, vice president of information technology at AmerTac, exposed female workers to pornographic images on his computer on a daily basis and called them derogatory names.
The lawsuit was initially filed by a pair of female employees after their claims of sexual harassment underwent a mandatory review by the EEOC, which enforces workplace anti-discrimination laws. According to the lawsuit Di Stefano and another company executive allegedly retaliated against the women for complaining about the sexual harassment. The EEOC reviewed the case and were shocked by what was presented to them.
The settlement between the EEOC and defendants AmerTac Holding and American Tack & Hardware involves no admission of guilt by the companies, but requires them to provide anti-discrimination training and information to employees on sexual harassment in addition to the monetary settlement of $325,000.
In Illinois if an employee believes they have been subjected to sexual harassment, they can first file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights ("IDHR") who will automatically file a complaint with the EEOC. This gives the employee more options by having an active case before both agencies.
