- A lawsuit claims GM and the UAW paid less to employees entitled to full retirement benefits.
- Female workers at FCA’s Detroit Assembly Complex allegedly endured sexual harassments.
General Motors and FCA US have been sued by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming they violated federal laws. The United Auto Workers (UAW) union hasn’t escaped the eye of the EEOC either, and it’s been embroiled in the same lawsuit as GM, which claims it and the automaker engaged in age discrimination tactics.
Let’s start with the case against GM and the UAW. According to the federal agency, the two violated federal law while negotiating their collective bargaining agreement. It claimed this limited short-term disability payments to older workers receiving Social Security Retirement benefits.
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The lawsuit alleges that while GM has paid weekly benefits to employees who miss work due to sickness or injury, it paid less to employees who were entitled to full retirement benefits from the Social Security program because of their age. The EEOC says this meant workers aged 66 and older were left with fewer benefits than younger employees, violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
“GM and UAW penalize older workers whose age and work history allow them to collect Social Security retirement insurance,” EEOC Regional Attorney Kenneth L. Bird said. “All workers should be entitled to the same benefits under a collective bargaining agreement, regardless of age.”
FCA US is also in the hot seat for another issue. The EEOC says female employees at the carmaker’s Detroit Assembly Complex have been subjected to sexual harassment from male supervisors and co-workers, including sexually explicit comments and inappropriate touching.
The lawsuit states that several women complained to FCA but it failed to act. As such, its alleged behavior puts it in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment. At least one woman resigned because of the “sexually hostile work environment.”
“The EEOC will act to vindicate the rights of female employees who were forced to accept continued harassment,” EEOC assistant regional attorney Omar Weaver said. “This agency takes allegations of harassment very seriously and is committed to pursuing remedial changes to the work environment and appropriate relief for those who endured harassment because of their sex.”
The EEOC is encouraging any women who believe they have been sexually harassed at FCA’s Detroit Assembly Complex to come forward.
