Federal government sues GM, UAW for age discrimination, FCA sex discrimination

General Motors and FCA US have been sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming they violated federal law. The United Auto Workers (UAW) has not escaped the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s radar, being involved in the same lawsuit as General Motors, which claims it and the automaker engaged in age discrimination tactics.

Let’s start with the cases against General Motors and the United Auto Workers. According to the federal agency, the two violated federal law while negotiating their collective bargaining agreement. It claims this limits short-term disability payments to older workers who receive Social Security retirement benefits.

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The lawsuit alleges that while GM paid weekly benefits to employees who were absent from work due to illness or injury, it paid smaller benefits to employees who were entitled to full retirement benefits from the Social Security program because of their age. That means workers 66 and older receive less benefits than younger employees, a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the EEOC said.

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“General Motors and the United Auto Workers are penalizing older workers whose age and employment history permit them to receive Social Security retirement insurance,” said Kenneth L. Bird, regional attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “All workers should be entitled to the same benefits under collective bargaining agreements, regardless of age.”

FCA US is also in trouble with another issue. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said female employees at the automaker’s Detroit assembly plant were sexually harassed by male supervisors and co-workers, including sexually explicit comments and inappropriate touching.

The lawsuit alleges that multiple women complained to FCA, but the agency took no action. Therefore, his alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment. At least one woman resigned due to a “sexually hostile work environment.”

“The EEOC will take action to uphold the rights of female employees who are forced to submit to ongoing harassment,” said EEOC Assistant District Attorney Omar Weaver. “The agency takes allegations of harassment very seriously and is committed to making remedial changes to the work environment and providing appropriate relief to those who experience harassment because of their gender.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission encourages any women who believe they were sexually harassed at FCA’s Detroit Assembly Building to come forward.