EEOC SUES GENERAL ELECTRIC FOR RACE DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION

Long-Time African-American Employee Denied Promotion In Favor of Less Qualified White

EEOC SUES GENERAL ELECTRIC
FOR RACE DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION
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Long-Time African-American Employee Denied Promotion In Favor of Less Qualified White

   HARRISONBURG, Va. - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against General Electric (GE) the mega-technology, information services, and manufacturing conglomerate based in Fairfield, Conn., with over 300,000 employees in more than 100 countries. The Commission alleges that a 20-year GE mechanic at GE's Winchester, Va. lamp plant was denied a promotion because of his race, African-American, in favor of a less qualified White
employee, and in retaliation for participating in an internal investigation.
   
         According to the Commission, the White employee who recieved the promotion did not possess the expertise to meet the job's qualifications. In addition, the African-American charging party had recently participated in an internal investigation of race and sex discrimination at the company. The EEOC's suit alleges that the African-American mechanic clearly was more qualified than the White employee who received the promotion and, moreover, that the reason he was denied the promotion was because of his race and in retaliation for raising discrimination concerns.

   Barbara Brice-Brown Senior Trial Attorney at the EEOC's Washington Field Office, which has jurisdiction for the litigation, stated "Every individual deserves the freedom to compete in the workplace on a level playing field. No one should be denied an equal opportunity for advancement due to race or any other discriminatory factor."

   The lawsuit, filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. of 1964 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Harrisonburg Division (Case No. 02-CV-62), seeks appropriate relief for the African-American charging party. The EEOC filed suit after its conciliation efforts failed to result in a voluntary pre-litigation settlement.

   Tulio L. Diaz, Jr., Director of the EEOC'S Washington Field Office, said: "This case is particularly repugnant because the victim was a GE veteran who had devoted 20 years of his life to the company. This individual is a highly qualified worker who was passed over for a promotion not because he lacked experience, but merely because of his race and participation in an internal complaint proceeding."

   In addtion to enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employement discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, EEOC enforces the Equal Pay Act: prohibitions against discrimination affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal sector, sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector, state and local governments; and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Further Information about the Commission is avaliable on its web site at :
www.eeoc.gov.

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