H&E Equipment Services, Inc., one of the nation’s largest dealers in heavy equipment, will pay $125,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit involving H&E’s Henderson facility.
The suit, brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in federal court in Denver, alleged that the branch manager of H&E’s Henderson office offered a rental manager position to a man while denying the position to Kathleen Wooten, the rental supervisor.
The branch manager allegedly said that he didn’t think women could be managers in the construction industry.
Wooten then complained of sex discrimination, only to be laid off and replaced by a male employee, the EEOC alleged.
In addition to the monetary settlement, the two-year agreement to resolve the lawsuit contains non-monetary relief.
H&E will review its written equal employment opportunity policies and complaint reporting procedures.
The company will also provide training about how to avoid sex discrimination and retaliation to all Colorado employees and all higher-level managers nationwide.
The agreement also requires that H&E use non-discriminatory criteria for conducting layoffs, and that it report to EEOC semi-annually regarding compliance with the agreement.
Mary Jo O’Neill, the EEOC regional attorney, said there are too many industries in which too many people “don’t get the simple but crucial principle of equality between the sexes.”
Nancy Sienko, the EEOC Denver field office director, said the EEOC encourages women to stand up for their rights and to file charges with the EEOC.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
