Employer ignored sexually hostile work environment at multiple Alabama sites despite employee complaints and federal agency charges

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – McDonald Oil Company, a Georgia-based company that operates gas stations and convenience stores in Orange Beach, Fairhope and Spanish Fort, Alabama, has subjected its female employees to a sexually hostile work environment, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) indicted in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC complaint, from at least June 2020 to the end of August 2020, the company allowed a male employee to subject multiple employees to unwanted sexual touching and sexual comments about their bodies and questions. about their sex life. The male employee also solicited them for sex, stripped naked at work, and circulated photos of himself naked and semi-nude which ultimately resulted in his prosecution. The EEOC alleges that several supervisors ignored complaints from numerous employees and customers. Rather than protect its employees and customers, McDonald Oil apologized to the harasser and moved him to another location where the harassment continued.

This alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits an employer from allowing a hostile work environment based on gender. The EEOC filed a complaint (EEOC v. McDonald Oil Company, Case No.1: 21-cv-00407) in US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama after its local Mobile office completed an investigation and tried first to reach a pre-litigation. settlement through its voluntary conciliation process. The EEOC seeks pecuniary damages for the victims, including compensatory and punitive damages, as well as an injunction against the company in order to prevent such unlawful behavior in the future.

“Requiring employees to work in a sexually-oriented environment steeped in unwelcome touching, comments and sexual behavior violates Title VII,” said Bradley Anderson, District Manager for EEOC Birmingham. “The EEOC is committed to ensuring that employers who know about sexual harassment correct it quickly.

Marsha Rucker, Regional Counsel for the Birmingham District of the EEOC, said: “McDonald Oil has had ample opportunity to protect its employees, but several levels of management have chosen to ignore this harassment and have allowed it to continue. . The EEOC will aggressively pursue remedies for victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.

EEOC’s Birmingham District includes Alabama, Mississippi (except 17 northern counties), and the Florida Panhandle.

The EEOC advances opportunities in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.