fry's black friday electronics deals 2018 Fry's Electronics Inc. will pay $2.3 million to settle a lawsuit from the federal government alleging that the retailer retaliated against a supervisor who reported a sexual harassment claim. Ka Lam, a supervisor at the chain's store in Renton, Wash., was fired after alerting supervisors to inappropriate behavior toward one of his young employees, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. America Rios, then a 20-year-old sales associate, told Lam that an assistant store manager was frequently sending her sexually charged text messages propositioning her and commenting on her body while inviting her to his house to drink, according to a lawsuit the EEOC filed against Fry's. fry's black friday electronics deals 2018 will pay $2.3 million to settle a lawsuit from the federal government alleging that the retailer retaliated against a supervisor who reported a sexual harassment claim. Ka Lam, a supervisor at the chain's store in Renton, Wash., was fired after alerting supervisors to inappropriate behavior toward one of his young employees, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. America Rios, then a 20-year-old sales associate, told Lam that an assistant store manager was frequently sending her sexually charged text messages propositioning her and commenting on her body while inviting her to his house to drink, according to a lawsuit the EEOC filed against Fry's. Also See- fry's black friday electronics deals Two former employees of Fry’s Electronics received a $2.3 million settlement as a result of a discrimination lawsuit against the store on Aug. 30, 2012. The case arose from the continued sexual harassment of America Rios, an employee at Fry’s Renton location, and employer retaliation of Ka Lam for his attempt to investigate the harassment. best fry's black friday deals 2018 In addition to the settlement, Fry’s Electronics was sanctioned $100,000 for withholding information that was central to the case. Fry’s attorneys failed to provide information in the discovery phase of the lawsuit which would have revealed that the accused employee who harassed Rios had been investigated for a previous sexual harassment claim. The attorney for Rios and Lam, Scott Blankenship, indicated Fry’s claim that it stumbled upon a written complaint of the prior harassment, which was not originally disclosed. According to Blankenship, Fry’s did not think they were required to produce the information. “This seven-figure settlement, among the highest EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) settlements ever on a per-claimant basis, follows court-ordered sanctions, including a penalty of $100,000 due to Fry’s abusive discovery tactics, which included destroying relevant evidence, wrongfully withholding evidence, and filing frivolous motions,” said EEOC General Counsel P. David Lopez. “The case should send a clear message that sexual harassment of vulnerable employees remains a serious problem in this country, as is employer retaliation against those who report harassment.” |