A Colorado car dealership has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a sex and age discrimination lawsuit.
Arapahoe Motors, Inc., doing business as Ralph Schomp Automotive, will pay $1.505 million and “furnish other relief” to settle a suit against the company filed by the federal government on behalf of 10 former employees.
In a statement released this afternoon, the dealership said the decision to settle is an effort to protect the company and employees from economic hardship.
Ralph Schomp still denies all of the allegations, the dealership said.
Ralph Schomp, based in Littleton, is one of the highest volume BMW, Honda, and Mini dealers in Colorado.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the settlement today in a media release.
The five women represented by the EEOC were “subjected to sex discrimination and a sexually hostile work environment while employed by the car dealership,” the release said.
“The unlawful conduct allegedly included offensive verbal comments and physical touching, demotion, refusal to transfer, salary reduction and failure to promote,” according to the government.
The EEOC also alleged that five “older” employees were fired because of their ages and replaced with younger, less-experienced workers. A manager with Schomp, who was in his 20s, allegedly made age-related comments prior to the firings and younger employees with lower sales numbers were kept while the older employees were let go, the EEOC said.
The 10 former employees will split the $1.5 million settlement, according to the release.
Schomp also agreed to post its anti-discrimination policy, provide training about anti-discrimination laws to its employees and managers, and make periodic reports to the EEOC for a two-year period, the release said.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
