Benson Enterprises Inc., which owns three San Antonio car dealerships, will pay $430,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit, federal officials said Friday.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Benson in 2021, alleging that a male manager at Ingram Park Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram created a hostile work environment and that the business fired a woman after she complained about her treatment by the man.
Benson officials declined to comment on the EEOC’s allegations.
The EEOC’s petition accused the manager of subjecting a woman working as a fleet service advisor to sexist remarks about her and other women, including comments that they were lazy, ignorant and unqualified.
Beyond that, the government argued that the manager shooed clients away from the fleet service advisor and excluded her from communications about business operations, which cut into her commission-based paycheck. Further, the manager excluded her and other women from an employee group chat announcing competitions for monetary bonuses, according to the suit’s claims.
In its suit, the EEOC also accused the dealership of firing the fleet service advisor in June 2021 after she complained about how the manager treated her. In a statement, EEOC officials said the firing amounted to retaliation for speaking out as well as discrimination based on her gender.
“Avoiding liability for workplace discrimination requires organizations to hold managers accountable for their treatment of subordinate employees,” EEOC Dallas Regional Attorney Ronald L. Phillips said in a statement.
Phillips added that the law requires businesses to have well-defined complaint procedures, oversight of managers, active monitoring of workers’ well-being and strong measures to prevent retaliation.
On Aug. 6, a San Antonio federal court denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment challenging some of the EEOC’s claims, clearing the suit to go to a jury trial, according to the EEOC.
After that, Benson agreed to settle the case, according to the feds.
“Unlawful sex-based harassment is not limited to unwelcome sexual remarks and conduct but also can include misogynist comments and sexist behavior,” EEOC San Antonio Field Office Director Norma Guzman said in a statement. “No employee should fear retaliation in the workplace for bringing discrimination to the attention of their company’s management or human resources department.”
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