Female Employee Claims Gender Discrimination Where Employer Told Her That The Position “Needed A Man”
Having litigated gender discrimination cases under the federal anti-discrimination laws for nearly twenty years, our Marion County, Florida sex discrimination lawyers know that women continue to face substantial disadvantages in their efforts to obtain jobs traditionally held by men. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), employees are protected from discrimination on the basis of sex with respect to their compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. Although there has been a steady erosion of many gender-based employment barriers since the passage of Title VII, women continue to endure systemic discrimination in jobs traditionally held by men. Indeed, many employers still continue to refuse to consider women for “men’s jobs.” A gender discrimination lawsuit recently filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is illustrative of the obstacles women still confront when seeking jobs traditionally held by men.
Alleged Discriminatory Failure To Promote
The EEOC filed the gender discrimination lawsuit, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abraham Chevrolet-Miami, Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-23550, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida after initially attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its statutorily mandated conciliation process. The EEOC brought the gender discrimination case pursuant to Title VII on behalf of a former employee of Abraham Chevrolet-Miami, Inc. (Abraham Chevrolet), Jacqueline de la Torre (de la Torre). The EEOC claimed that Abraham-Chevrolet violated Title VII by failing to promote de la Torre because of her gender.
Abraham Chevrolet is an automobile dealership. From 1996 until August 2013, de la Torre worked at Abraham Chevrolet. During her employment, de la Torre held several positions, including the position of Assistant Parts Manager during the final ten years of her employment. In the summer of 2013, the position of Parts Manager became available. Even though she had been performing the position of Assistant Parts Manager for past ten years, Abraham Chevrolet did not interview or consider de la Torre for promotion to the position. Nor did Abraham Chevrolet provide de la Torre with an opportunity to submit her application or resume for the position of Parts Manager.
During a company meeting in August 2013, management informed employees that a male, Armas, would be promoted to the position of Parts Manager. As Armas had never held the position, Abraham Chevrolet required de la Torre to train Armas on how to do his new job as Parts Manager. Ultimately, de la Torre complained to management about the failure to provide her with an opportunity to apply for the Parts Manager position. In response to her complaint, management told de la Torre that the dealership “needed a man” for the Parts Manager position. Management also admitted to de la Torre that she was the most qualified person for the position, but, nonetheless, told her that “it was too late to undo things.” After being discriminatorily passed over for promotion, according to the EEOC, de la Torre was compelled to resign her employment in August 2013.
Women Must Have Access To All Jobs
The EEOC is the administrative agency of the United States responsible for interpreting and enforcing federal laws prohibiting discrimination, including gender discrimination. In enforcing the federal anti-discrimination laws, the EEOC is also authorized by federal law to bring lawsuits on behalf of employment discrimination victims, including gender discrimination. In a press release issued by the EEOC regarding the case, a Regional Attorney for the EEOC’s Miami District Office, Robert E. Weisberg, stated that “[a]ll employees are entitled to the freedom to compete for promotions on a fair and level playing field without regard to whether they are male or female.” “Employers must make promotion decisions based on qualifications and experience,” Mr. Weisberg added, “and not on misguided unlawful gender-based stereotypes.” In commenting on the case, the Director for the EEOC’s Miami District Office, Michael Farrell, stated that the “EEOC has long been dedicated to eradicating the glass ceiling for women in all professions and, with this case, continues to ensure that women will be afforded the same promotional opportunities as men.”
Free Consultation With Ocala Gender Discrimination Lawyers
Based in Ocala, Florida and representing employees throughout Central Florida, our Marion County, Florida gender discrimination attorneys have almost twenty years of experiencing litigating gender discrimination lawsuits. If you have experienced gender discrimination at work or have questions about being denied promotion because of your gender, please contact our office for a free consultation with our Marion County, Florida gender discrimination lawyers. Our employee rights law firm takes discrimination cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that there are no attorney’s fees incurred unless there is a recovery and our attorney’s fees come solely from the monetary award that you recover.
