May 4, 2023

On May 2, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Mueller Co. LLC, a Delaware-based manufacturer of fire protection systems and equipment, and IH Services, Inc., a South Carolina-based company which provides staffing and support services to businesses across the eastern United States. The lawsuit alleges that Mueller Co. and IH services subjected female IH Services employees to a hostile work environment based on sex and retaliated against them when they complained.

In the complaint, the EEOC alleges that from May 2018 until August 2020, IH Services assigned female employees to provide cleaning services at Mueller’s Albertville, Alabama fire hydrant manufacturing plant where Mueller’s male employees subjected female IH Services employees to unwanted sexual touching and comments about their bodies and sex lives. Mueller male employees also solicited the female cleaning crew for sex, asked to watch them have sex with their partners, exposed their genitals, and attempted to rape one of the female employees. At least three females complained to IH Services and Mueller managers, but both employers failed to take action to stop the harassment. Instead, IH Services retaliated against them by reducing their hours, transferring them to undesirable shifts, and suspending or firing them.

The EEOC seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the victims and injunctive relief against the companies to prevent unlawful conduct in the future. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama as EEOC v. Mueller Co., LLC and IH Services, Inc., Case No. 4:23-cv-00552-CLM.

How Traliant Can Help

Traliant ensures that its clients comply with all sexual harassment training laws. We offer both one-hour and two-hour versions of our sexual harassment prevention course and a one-hour version of our bystander intervention training, which complies with the Chicago requirements.

Consistent with EEOC guidelines and court decisions, Traliant’s interactive, online harassment training covers not just sexual harassment, but all forms of workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. 

The online course is fully customizable; each organization can include their logo, workplace images, introductory messages, and unique policies and procedures for preventing and addressing workplace discrimination.

Learn more about Traliant’s full suite of online sexual harassment training. Traliant is also proud to offer harassment prevention compliance packages, which include required policies, notices, and postings for each jurisdiction in which employers operate. If you have any questions about the law, please contact us at 703-372-0550 or at info@clearlawinstitute.com.

This article is for information purposes only. Its contents do not constitute legal advice and readers should not regard this article as a substitute for detailed advice in individual instances

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By

Elissa Rossi