United States: Settlement Dictates Extensive Anti-Discrimination Measures

Pursuant to a settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") of two sex discrimination lawsuits, CBS Broadcasting Inc. must pay $8 million in compensation to approximately 200 female employees and adopt a series of anti-discrimination measures which the EEOC states will "help prevent discrimination at CBS in the future."

The classes in both lawsuits, EEOC v. CBS Broadcasting Inc., S.D.N.Y., No. 00-8159 and Beckman v. CBS Inc., D.Minn, No. 3-96-CV-1172, consisted of all female employees who have been or will be employed by CBS at WCCO in Minneapolis and all female technical workers in engineering and operations at WCCO; KCBS in Los Angeles, California; WCBS in New York, New York; WBBM in Chicago, Illinois; WFRV in Green Bay, Wisconsin; and WWJ in Detroit, Michigan. Both lawsuits were filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and charged CBS with subjecting the class of female technicians to a pattern and practice of discrimination with respect to salary, overtime, promotions, and training; causing a hostile work environment that included sexual harassment; and retaliating against female employees for complaining about the discrimination.

A consent decree was filed in the first lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that paralleled a settlement entered the same day in federal district court in Minnesota in a second lawsuit.

According to the EEOC, the two parallel settlements were the result of a "package negotiation" covering both cases. Of particular note are the anti-discrimination programs CBS must implement pursuant to the consent decree. Pursuant to some of these programs, CBS must do the following:

• post a notice of non-discrimination
• adopt and disseminate a new non-discrimination policy
• institute broad anti-discrimination training
• file detailed reports on any sex discrimination complaints

Both the EEOC and the outside class counsel will be monitoring CBS's compliance with these programs for a period of four years. As the EEOC explained, "by monitoring CBS for the next four years, the commission will be in a position to act quickly should discrimination or retaliation occur again."

Employers should not wait until a lawsuit is filed by the EEOC or a private party before implementing these anti-discrimination policies and programs. You should have such programs in place now not only to help prevent and combat discrimination in the workplace, but also to reduce the likelihood that the EEOC will impose them upon you in connection with a monitoring program.