Dollar General violated federal law when it subjected a store manager to a sexually hostile work environment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced yesterday.

According to the EEOC's suit, within a week of Dollar General hiring an assistant store manager for its Rock Hall, Md., location on May 28, 2016, the store manager began sexually harassing her. He frequently made crude comments about her appearance or sexually charged innuendoes. The EEOC also charges that the store manager repeatedly subjected the assistant manager to unwelcome touching, including once grabbing her head and forcing it to his crotch while making a sexual innuendo; rubbing her shoulders; and grabbing her and ripping her blouse.

The EEOC said that after the assistant manager complained to Dollar General management, they transferred her to its Chestertown store, which required earlier, less convenient hours and added an hour to her daily commute. Dollar General refused to return her to the Rock Hall location and even permitted the harasser to go to the Chestertown store once while she was working there. The EEOC said that the assistant manager was compelled to resign on July 31, 2016, based on Dollar General's inadequate response to her sexual harassment complaint.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits discrimination based on sex. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Dolgencorp, LLC, t/a Dollar General Stores Inc., Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-02965) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

EEOC Press Release