Benson Enterprises, Inc., the operator of automotive dealerships including Ingram Park Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in San Antonio, will pay $430,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sex-based harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, from January to June 2021, a male manager for Ingram Park Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram created and maintained a hostile work environment by subjecting a female fleet service advisor to frequent and offensive sexist comments about her and other women, such as statements that women were ignorant, lazy or unqualified to work as service advisors.
The suit charged that the manager also directed clients away from the fleet service advisor and excluded her from important communications regarding business operations — resulting in a loss of sales and negatively affecting her commission-based compensation.
Additionally, the manager excluded the fleet service advisor and another female employee from an employee group chat announcing competitions for monetary bonuses, resulting in denial of earnings opportunities based on sex.
The lawsuit also charged that the fleet services advisor made several reports to the dealership about the male manager’s discriminatory conduct, and the dealership subsequently fired her on June 11, 2021 in retaliation for those complaints and because of her sex.
This alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex-based workplace harassment and discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment and further prohibits retaliation against employees who report or oppose such practices.
The EEOC filed suit (U.S. EEOC v. Benson Enterprises, Inc., et al., Case No. 5:24-cv-01072) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.