BOULDER, Colo. — Teamsters Local Union No. 455, a labor union with locations in Denver and Fort Morgan, Colorado, has agreed to pay $85,000 and provide other relief to resolve a federal lawsuit charging sexual harassment by one of its business agents brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency has announced.
According to the EEOC’s suit filed in September 2022, the union’s male business agent sexually harassed a female UPS manager during a scheduled meeting to discuss grievances, and the business agent subsequently pled guilty to criminal charges stemming from the same incident.
After first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process, the EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Teamsters Local Union #455, Civil Action No.: 1:22-cv-2520-DDD-KLM), alleging that the union, through its agent, had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace, according to a news release.
Under the consent decree resolving the suit, Teamsters Local No. 455 “will review and update its anti-discrimination policies to include a strong and clear commitment to preventing unlawful sex discrimination (including sexual harassment),” the news release noted.
The union will also provide training to its officers, agents and employees, and will post an informational flyer about workplace sex harassment at its Colorado office locations and on union bulletin boards at employer business locations where members of Local No. 455 are employed.
“We are pleased that Teamsters Local No. 455 has agreed to these remedial steps to heighten awareness about sexual harassment, inform staff and members of their rights, and, we hope, avoid such incidents in the future,” said Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill of the EEOC’s Phoenix District Office, which has jurisdiction over Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah.
Amy Burkholder, director of the EEOC’s Denver Field Office, added, “It is important to remember that under Title VII, labor unions also have obligations to prevent workplace sexual harassment, and act promptly to stop any such conduct if it happens.”
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