In what the EEOC has called “some of the most severe misconduct this office has seen,” AK Steel Corporation has entered into a consent decree providing eight African American employees with $600,000. Allegations of harassment beginning in 2000 included racially graphic graffiti, the open display of Ku Klux Klan videos in employee lounge areas, and racial slurs and epithets directed toward black employees. AK Steel, a Fortune 500 Company with nearly $6 billion in sales, also agreed to provide all employees who work at the subject location with annual training on the company’s equal employment opportunity policies and to conduct additional training for supervisory and managerial employees on investigating discrimination complaints.
Use this opportunity to check your restrooms and other areas of your facility for signs of graffiti. It is imperative that once discovered or reported these forms of discrimination be eliminated immediately. Training is also strongly recommended if race-based comments or graffiti are found.
EEOC Press Release