Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. JBS USA, LLC

301 F.R.D. 586, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127419, 2014 WL 4437668
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedSeptember 9, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 10-cv-02103-PAB-KLM
StatusPublished

This text of 301 F.R.D. 586 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. JBS USA, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. JBS USA, LLC, 301 F.R.D. 586, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127419, 2014 WL 4437668 (D. Colo. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

ENTERED BY MAGISTRATE JUDGE KRISTEN L. MIX

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff EEOC’s Motion to Strike Defendant’s Improperly Disclosed and Unidentified Witnesses [# 322]1 (the “Motion”). The Motion is referred to the undersigned for disposition [#323]. Defendant filed a Response to the Motion [#327] and Plaintiff Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“Plaintiff’ or the “EEOC”) filed a Reply [# 328]. The Motion is now fully briefed and ripe for resolution. The Court has reviewed the Motion, the Response, the Reply, the entire docket, and the applicable law, and is sufficiently advised in the premises. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion [# 322] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I. Background

A. Procedural Background

Defendant owns and operates a meat packing plant in Greeley, Colorado at which a large number of Somali, Muslim, and black persons work. The EEOC filed this suit alleging that Defendant discriminated against these workers based on their national origin, religion, and ethnicity. The EEOC brings several pattern or practice claims al[588]*588leging discriminatory harassment, disparate treatment, denial of religious accommodation, retaliation, and discipline and discharge. The EEOC also brings individual claims on behalf of charging parties for failure to accommodate religion, retaliation for requesting accommodation, hostile work environment, and discriminatory discipline and discharge. The EEOC’s claims are based on Sections 706 and 707 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (the “Act”). Section 706 of the Act permits the EEOC to sue an employer on behalf of persons aggrieved by the employer’s alleged unlawful practice. Section 707 of the Act permits the EEOC to sue employers whom it has reasonable cause to believe are engaged in a pattern or practice of unlawful employment discrimination. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(1); 2000e-6; see also Gen. Tel. Co. of the Northwest, Inc. v. EEOC, 446 U.S. 318, 324, 100 S.Ct. 1698, 64 L.Ed.2d 319 (1980).

The EEOC’s pattern or practice religious accommodation claim alleges that Defendant violated workers’ rights to religious accommodation in four ways since at least December 22, 2007: (1) in 2008, it denied Muslim workers the ability to pray at or near sundown during the holy month of Ramadan; (2) in 2008, it did not allow Muslim workers to break their fast after sundown during Ramadan; (3) it denied Muslim workers bathroom breaks and the ability to pray during those bathroom breaks; and (4) it did not provide Muslim workers a space in which to pray, forcing them to pray on bathroom floors. Compl. [# 1] at ¶¶ 15-18, 23, 30-39; 44-54. The EEOC also alleges that during Ramadan of 2008, Muslim employees requested that their evening break be moved from 9:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. so that they could pray and break their fast within fifteen minutes of sunset. Id. at ¶ 29. As alleged, for two days Defendant accommodated this request, but on the third day, a Friday, the break was moved to 8:00 p.m. Id. at ¶¶ 30-31. On Friday, management stationed employees at the doors to prevent Muslim workers from leaving the facility at 7:30 p.m. and shut off water fountains or tagged them with red tags and yellow tape, preventing the workers from drinking water at the end of their daily fast or washing up for their prayers. Id. at ¶ 32. At 8:00 p.m., management told Muslim employees to leave the facility, but when the employees attempted to re-enter after their breaks, management told them they could not return to work. Id. at ¶¶ 37-39. Plaintiff avers that the following Monday Defendant advised the employees’ union that those workers who left the plant had engaged in an unauthorized work stoppage and would be placed on an indefinite suspension. Id. at ¶ 40. It is further alleged that on Tuesday, Defendant decided to allow these workers to return to work with a final written warning, provided they returned that day. Id. at ¶ 41. However, Plaintiff claims that Defendant did not contact each worker to tell him or her about this decision and, therefore, several Muslim employees were terminated for not returning to work on Tuesday. Id. at ¶ 42.

The EEOC’s pattern or practice hostile work environment claim alleges a variety of forms of harassment against Defendant’s Muslim, Somali, and/or black employees. These employees were allegedly subjected to harassing comments on the basis of their race, national origin, and/or religion. Id. at ¶ 19. Other employees allegedly threw blood, meat, and bones at these employees and called them offensive names. Id. at ¶ 20. Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant’s Muslim employees were harassed when they attempted to pray during scheduled breaks and were diseriminatorily denied bathroom breaks. Id. at ¶¶ 20-23. The bathrooms at Defendant’s facility also allegedly bore anti-Muslim, anti-Somali, and anti-black graffiti. Id. at ¶ 21. In its briefing on its Motion for Bifurcation [# 28], the EEOC stated that its theory of Defendant’s liability for this harassment is one of employer negligence. Reply in Support of Motion for Bifurcation [# 62] at 8. The EEOC also alleges a retaliation pattern or practice claim, asserting that Muslim workers were retaliated against for requesting religious accommodations. Compl. at ¶¶ 55-59. It further alleges a discriminatory discipline and discharge claim, alleging that Muslim, Somali, and/or black workers were disciplined or fired because of their religion, national origin, and/or race.2 Id. at ¶¶ 44-49.

[589]*589The Intervenors in this lawsuit, who number in excess of two hundred, are former or current workers at Defendant’s Greeley plant. They assert multiple claims against Defendant, including claims based on a pattern or practice of discriminatory treatment because of race, national origin, religion, and/or retaliation, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e2(a). See Compl. in Intervention and Jury Demand [# 40] at ¶¶ 61-66; Am. Compl. in Intervention and Jury Demand [# 61] at ¶¶ 156-61; Compl. in Intervention and Jury Demand [# 132] at ¶¶ 34-39; Am. Compl. in Intervention and Jury Demand [# 137] at ¶¶ 52-57; Compl. In Intervention and Jury Demand [# 236] at ¶¶ 51-56.

On August 8, 2011, the District Judge granted in part the EEOC’s Motion to Bifurcate the trial, and ordered that the trial will be conducted in two phases. Order on Motion to Bifurcate [# 116] at 18. During Phase I of the trial, the EEOC will present its claim that Defendant engaged in a pattern or practice of denial of religious accommodation, retaliation, and discipline and discharge. Id. During Phase II, the EEOC may present its pattern or practice claim for hostile work environment, pursue individual damages for its pattern or practice claim presented in Phase I, and pursue individual claims for compensatory and punitive damages. Id. The individual Intervenors’ claims not covered by the EEOC’s claims will also be evaluated in Phase II. Id. The District Judge further granted the EEOC’s request to bifurcate discovery. Id. at 17-18.

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301 F.R.D. 586, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127419, 2014 WL 4437668, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equal-employment-opportunity-commission-v-jbs-usa-llc-cod-2014.