EEOC Settles Religious And Sexual Harassment Lawsuit For $80,000

(Published June 29, 2009)

 

The Vail Corporation, which operates ski resorts in Vail and Keystone, CO, will pay $80,000 and furnish other relief to settle a religious and gender discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

 

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, EEOC v. The Vail Corporation, 07-cv-02035-REB-KLM, Lisa Marie Cornwell, an emergency services supervisor at the Keystone Resort, was subjected to harassment based on her Christian religion and her sex, denied religious accommodation and treated less favorably than her male colleagues.  The EEOC said that Cornwell's supervisor, Rick Garcia, forbade her and another Christian employee from even discussing their Christian beliefs with one another while at work, and would not allow them to listen to Christian music while on duty, because it might offend other employees, but had no similar restrictions on music with profanity or lyrics promoting violence against women, which were offensive to Cornwell.

 

Additionally, according to the EEOC, Garcia ridiculed Cornwell for asking for scheduling accommodation so that she could attend her preferred religious services, and denied her requests while scheduling lower ranking officers for the shifts she requested. Also, Garcia created and tolerated a sexually hostile work environment where he and other male employees made offensive sexual comments and jokes in the workplace, the EEOC alleged.

 

Cornwell complained to various Keystone managers and Human Resource staff about the harassment and being scheduled to miss her religious services on Sundays, but no action was taken to resolve the problems. EEOC alleged that Cornwell was fired in retaliation for her last complaint, made less than 10 days before her termination.

 

According to the EEOC, Cornwell could have been scheduled so that she could attend her religious services, without any cost or disruption to Vail's business operations, and the company was required by law to make some such accommodation.