Final Project Paper

Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) and ManpowerGroup US, Inc. (Manpower) have agreed to pay $40,000 and hire outside consultants to review their sexual harassment policies and procedures to resolve a sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Victoria Stafford was jointly employed by Manpower, a temporary staffing agency, and JCI, an international manufacturer of heating and air systems. Stafford worked at JCI’s Norman, Okla., facility. The EEOC said that Stafford told her Manpower onsite super­visor that a JCI employee was sexually harassing her. Stafford said the harasser repeatedly told her about his sexual exploits, that he wanted to have sex with her daughter, made other belittling comments about women, and refused to perform work tasks he deemed to be “women’s work.”

The EEOC filed its lawsuit (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Johnson Controls, Inc. and ManpowerGroup US, Inc. No. 19-cv-904-F), in September 2019 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Judge Stephen P. Friot has approved the two-year consent decree awarding $40,000 in monetary damages to Stafford. In addition, the decree requires JCI and Manpower to engage outside consultants to review their discrimination and harassment policies, conduct annual training on sexual harassment, and train appropriate personnel on how to investigate complaints of sexual harassment.