EEOC Sues Dollar General For Sexual Harassment
BALTIMORE, Md. (WJZ) — Dollar General violated federal law when it subjected a store manager to a sexually hostile work environment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced Tuesday.
According to the suit, within a week of Dollar General hiring an assistant store manager for its Rock Hall, Md. location, the store manager began sexually harassing her.
The store manager frequently made crude comments about the woman's appearance and made sexually charged innuendoes, according to the suit.
The store manager is also alleged to have repeatedly subjected the assistant manager to unwelcome touching, including once grabbing her head and forcing it to his crotch while making a sexual innuendo, rubbing her shoulders, and grabbing her blouse, ripping it.
The EEOC said that after the assistant manager complained to Dollar General management, they transferred her to its Chestertown store, which added travel and working complications to her daily commute. Dollar General refused to return her to the Rock Hall location.
The assistant manager was, according to the EEOC, compelled to resign in 2016, based on Dollar General's inadequate response to her sexual harassment complaint.
"No one should be forced to endure sexually offensive comments or unwelcome physical touching to earn a living," said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence.
"The EEOC stands ready to protect workers from this kind of misconduct, including litigation if necessary, if employers allow managers to abuse employees in this way."
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