COBRA COMPANIES SUED BY EEOC FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT

PRESS RELEASE
8-26-09

Female Employees at Delray Beach Construction Companies Subjected to Sexual Advances and Tales of Sexual Exploits, EEOC Charged

MIAMI – Delray Beach-based engineering and construction companies Cobra Construction, Inc. and Cobra Pavers and Engineering, Inc. violated federal law when they sexually harassed female employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed yesterday.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Cobra’s managers told female employees stories of their sexual exploits, made derogatory remarks about women, and told one woman to “get naked.” The EEOC says that female employees were offended and intimidated by the harassment, which resulted in an alleged physical assault.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit, EEOC v. Cobra Pavers & Engineering, Inc., et al., Case No. 09-81239-CIV-MARRA, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement. “All employees, regardless of gender, should have the right to work in an environment free of harassment and hostility because of sex,” said Jacqueline H. McNair, district director of the EEOC’s Miami District Office. “Because this employer did not guard its work environment, the Commission must sue.”

The EEOC’s Miami regional attorney, Nora E. Curtin, added, “No woman should have to endure such offensive working conditions. The EEOC will prosecute any corporation that perpetrates and condones such unlawful conduct.”

The Cobra companies design and construct a variety of paving projects throughout South Florida. According to the companies’ web site, Cobra maintains offices in Delray Beach, Fort Myers and Fort Pierce.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov.

This page was last modified on August 26, 2009.