 
EEOC v. Safelite Scheduled for Trial
October 23, 2012
by Casey Neeley, cneeley@glass.com
A notice of hearing for jury trial was filed yesterday in the United
States District Court of Eastern North Carolina in the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) vs. Safelite Glass Corp. case. The
case is set to be heard December 3, 2012 at 10 a.m.
The parties originally filed a joint
motion for settlement conference in September. So far, the parties
have been unable to reach an agreement.
"The parties are scheduled for trial on the date and time noted
in the notice of hearing," says Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney
for EEOC. "However, as is common in civil actions, the parties continue
to discuss settlement as an option to trying the case before a jury.
Unfortunately, I cannot predict whether the case will actually settle
prior to trial. In some instances cases settle as late as the day
before trial or even after jury selection or during the trial. Therefore,
the possibility of the case settling continues even after the trial
has started."
In the suit
filed August 6, 2010, the EEOC alleges that Lee Laraviere-Steele,
who worked as a human resources assistant in the company's Enfield,
N.C., manufacturing and distribution facility, was subjected to
sexual harassment from March 2007 until March 2008 by the facility's
male human resources (HR) manager. In addition, Laraviere-Steele
and her husband, Darrell, had
intervened in the case as plaintiffs and had filed a complaint
that also listed Laraviere-Steele's former supervisor, Gregory Byrd,
as a defendant.
Safelite officials objected
to the suit after filing and have worked to close the matter. Safelite
previously
claimed that the case did not qualify under the applicable statute
of limitations and the doctrines of waiver, estoppel, unclean hands,
preemption and laches. In addition, the company claims that both
EEOC and Laraviere-Steele "failed to exhaust their administrative
remedies."
Earlier this year the EEOC opposed a motion
for summary judgment filed by Safelite. The court denied that
motion, but dismissed Laraviere-Steele's "claim for wrongful discharge
against defendant Gregory K. Byrd and her claims for intentional
and negligent infliction of emotional distress against both defendants."
Safelite spokesperson Melina Metzger provided the following statement
to glassBYTEs.com/AGRR magazine: "While we cannot
generally comment on legal or HR matters, the court has dismissed
all individual claims against Byrd. We continue to vehemently defend
the remaining claims against Safelite in this suit. These accusations
are not taken lightly; we have a firm commitment to the law and
workplace ethics."
This story is an original story by AGRR™ magazine/glassBYTEs.com™. Subscribe to AGRR™ Magazine.
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