Schuff Steel Company, a Phoenix-based steel fabricator, agreed to a $500,000 settlement in a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit alleging race harassment, national origin harassment and retaliation.
The Eloy operation of the company was named in a workplace harassment lawsuit in 2022, alleging that Schuff Steel violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by harassing Black and Latino employees, which included the use of racial slurs and epithets such as the N-word and "beaner" by the plant manager as well as mocking the speaking skills of Latino workers.
The suit also alleged that when workers complained about the harassment, the plant manager retaliated by firing or moving them to the night shift.
Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill of the EEOC's Phoenix District Office said that employees — regardless of the industry they work in, their racial background, or their national origin — have the right to work in an environment free of harassment and discrimination and without the threat of being fired or retaliated against for complaining about the harassment.
Schuff Steel issued a statement saying that it has always been committed to a workplace free from discrimination and retaliation, that it takes seriously any claims of wrongdoing, and that the company is satisfied to put the matter behind it.
