A roofing company based in the Dunkirk area, along with two related commercial roofing companies, will pay $270,000 and furnish other relief to settle a federal sex discrimination lawsuit alleging that egregious sexual harassment forced a roofer to resign. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the settlement on Tuesday.
The EEOC, which brought the lawsuit against A.W. Farrell & Son, alleged that a journeyman roofer's supervisor subjected him to months of unwelcome physical contact, including grabbing the area around his buttocks and jabbing his buttocks with various objects -- one time with enough force that the object penetrated him through his clothing. The supervisor also allegedly subjected the employee to repeated and unwelcome sexual comments. When the roofer reported the harassment to the company, it allegedly failed to appropriately address the conduct, and instead told the roofer to give his supervisor "another chance." According to the EEOC, the roofer resigned in April 2022 when he realized the company would not protect him from future harassment.
The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
In addition to the $270,000 in monetary relief, the three-year consent decree settling the suit requires anti-discrimination training; updates to company anti-discrimination policies; compliance-related reporting to the EEOC; and the posting of a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement and their rights under federal anti-discrimination law. In addition, the decree requires the roofing company to engage an outside professional whom employees may contact with any future reports of sex discrimination or harassment.
Along with A.W. Farrell, the other two companies covered by the decree are Jameson Roofing Company, Inc., and Northwestern Roofing Co., Inc.
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