Alleged Bias Against Women Costs Maryland Staffing Agency $2.6M in Default Judgment

March 24, 2023

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported it has obtained a default judgment in U.S. District Court in its sex discrimination lawsuit against Green JobWorks.

The EEOC filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the staffing agency that is located in Hanover, Maryland, for violating federal law by subjecting female workers to a pattern of sex discrimination in job assignments and assignment of work duties. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Green JobWorks refused to hire female workers for demolition and laborer positions or to assign those workers to such positions because of their sex. The lawsuit also charged that Green JobWorks assigned certain work duties on the basis of sex.

The EEOC said it filed suit in U.S. District Court for Maryland after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement.

EEOC said the alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment, including refusing to hire or to make assignments on the basis of gender.

On March 16, the federal court in Baltimore entered default judgment against Green JobWorks, establishing the company’s liability and awarding 48 female workers a total of $2,692,265 in monetary relief, consisting of $665,566 in lost wages with interest and an additional $2,026,698 in punitive damages.

“It has been almost 60 years since the passage of Title VII, yet many staffing agencies continue to believe that they can indulge discriminatory customer preferences and engage in stereotype-based selection practices with impunity – and they’re wrong,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence.