Company Settles Federal Charges It Fired Recruiter Because of Her Race and For Opposing Discrimination

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – R3 Government Solutions, LLC, a federal contractor, will pay $82,500 and provide other relief to settle a race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, R3 discriminated and retaliated against a Black woman who worked for R3 as a recruiter. The EEOC alleged the recruiter opposed what she believed were R3’s discriminatory hiring practices, which included rejecting candidates because of their age and disadvantaging candidates based on race or national origin. After the recruiter opposed R3’s hiring practices, the company fired her.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits retaliation and race discrimination, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, which prohibits retaliation against employees who oppose age discrimination. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“Employers who retaliate against those who oppose discriminatory hiring practices must be held accountable,” said Philadelphia District Office Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence. “The EEOC is committed to preventing and remedying discrimination and retaliation in the workplace.”

“Retaliation against employees who oppose discrimination they observe in the workplace cannot be tolerated, said Mindy E. Weinstein, director of the EEOC’s Washington Field Office. “The EEOC is committed to seeking relief for workers who speak up against their employer’s discriminatory conduct.”

The lawsuit was filed by the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office, which has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

For more information on age discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/age-discrimination. More information on race and national origin discrimination is at https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination and https://www.eeoc.gov/national-origin-discrimination.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.