Top 25 Workplace Harassment, Bias Settlements

In honor of National Boss Day, eBossWatch, which enables people to anonymously rate their bosses and evaluate potential employers, has released a study on workplace harassment and discrimination charges that it says are costing employers a “shocking” amount of money.

During the past year, workplace harassment and discrimination complaints have cost employers more than $356 million in lawsuit settlement payments and judgments for monetary damages, according to eBossWatch, citing as sources reports from news media and attorneys across the country as well as reports from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Sexual harassment is the most common type of workplace complaint leading to the employer paying a sizable settlement or jury award.

According to the web site, the top 25 largest workplace harassment/discrimination lawsuit settlements and judgments from the past 12 months are:

1. Mercy General Hospital (Sacramento, CA) will pay $168 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit judgment.

2. ArcelorMittal (Buffalo, NY) will pay $25 million in a race discrimination lawsuit judgment.

3. Dr Pepper Snapple Group (Chicago, IL) will pay $18.3 million in an age discrimination lawsuit judgment.

4. YRC/Yellow Transportation (Chicago Ridge, IL) will pay $11 million to settle an EEOC race harassment and discrimination lawsuit.

5. Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company (Los Angeles, CA) will pay $8.5 million in a disability discrimination lawsuit judgment.

6. Cook County (Chicago, IL) will pay $7.6 million in a race discrimination lawsuit judgment.

7. Lennox Industries (Richardson, TX) will pay $6.2 million to settle an age discrimination lawsuit.

8. Aaron’s Inc. (Fairview Heights, IL) will pay $6 million to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit.

9. Sears (Sacramento, CA) will pay $5.2 million in a race discrimination lawsuit judgment.

10. AT&T (Kansas City, MO) will pay $5 million in a religious discrimination lawsuit judgment.

11. Chrysler (Belvidere, IL) will pay $3.8 million in a race and religious discrimination lawsuit judgment.

12. Passaic County (Passaic County, NJ) will pay $3.7 million in an age discrimination lawsuit judgment.

13. D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (Washington, DC) will pay $3.5 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit judgment.

14. Rite Aid (Los Angeles, CA) will pay $3.5 million in a disability discrimination lawsuit judgment.

15. Pepsi (Minneapolis, MN) will pay $3.13 million to settle an EEOC race discrimination lawsuit.

16. CSX Transportation (Danville, WV) will pay $2.6 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit judgment.

17. Qwest Communications (San Francisco, CA) will pay $2.3 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit judgment.

18. Fry’s Electronics (Seattle, WA) will pay $2.3 million to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit.

19. Hoffmann-La Roche (Las Vegas) will pay $1.9 million in an age discrimination lawsuit judgment.

20. US Department of Veterans Affairs (Union Grove, WI) will pay $1.8 million in a retaliation lawsuit judgment.

21. Mary Ann’s Mexican Restaurant (New York, NY) will pay $1.6 million in a sexual orientation and religious discrimination lawsuit judgment.

22. Clallam County (Seattle, WA) will pay $1.6 million to settle an age discrimination lawsuit.

23. City of Burbank (Burbank, CA) will pay $1.3 million in a retaliation lawsuit judgment.

24. Henry’s Turkey Service (Goldthwaite, TX) will pay $1.3 million to compensate former employees in a disability discrimination lawsuit judgment.

25. Ferguson Enterprises (Detroit, MI) will pay $1.2 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit judgment.