Security Firm to Pay $115K in Suit over Retaliation at Michigan Site

Security giant Guardsmark has agreed to pay $115,000 and to provide other relief to settle a retaliation discrimination case brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.

EEOC sued Guardsmark for retaliating against a security guard who opposed a sexually hostile work environment.

According to EEOC’s lawsuit, Memphis-based Guardsmark terminated an employee who was working at a General Dynamics Land Systems location in Sterling Heights, Mich., in retaliation for his role in a woman’s sexual harassment complaint.

Another security guard used security cameras to zoom in on women’s private parts. The employee told a woman about the guard’s actions, and the woman filed an internal sexual harassment complaint. Guardsmark responded by firing him the day after it learned of the internal sexual harassment complaint.

EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Michigan (EEOC v. Guardsmark, Case No. 2:13-CV-15229) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Source: EEOC

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