Big Oil Field Companies Pay Up for Workplace Harassment.

Two oil field service companies, Bigfoot Energy Services and Iron Mountain Energy, will pay nearly $700,000 to settle a lawsuit over serious allegations of racial and sexual harassment in the workplace. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a government agency that fights workplace discrimination, brought the case against them.

What Happened?

According to the EEOC, things were pretty bad at these companies. Here's a breakdown of the allegations:

Racial Slurs: Managers and employees frequently used the "n-word" and other racist language when talking about Black employees.

Sexual Harassment: Male employees were accused of creating a hostile environment for others by sharing pornographic images and making offensive sexual comments.

Retaliation: When employees tried to speak up, they were fired. One male truck driver was fired the day after he complained about the sexual harassment. Other drivers were let go just days after complaining about the use of racial slurs.

This kind of behavior is illegal under a federal law called Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees from discrimination based on race and sex, and from being punished for reporting it.

The Settlement

To avoid a long court battle, Bigfoot and Iron Mountain agreed to a settlement. Here's what they have to do:

Pay Up: They will pay a total of $697,500 to the employees who were affected by the harassment and retaliation.

Make Changes: For the next three years, the companies have to:

Create and enforce new policies against harassment and retaliation.

Train all employees and managers on these new policies and the law.

Report back to the EEOC regularly to show they're following through on their promises.

The Takeaway

This case is a powerful reminder that all employers, no matter the industry, have a legal duty to protect their employees from harassment and discrimination. As an EEOC lawyer involved in the case said, "The EEOC is committed to holding accountable those companies who fail to comply with anti-discrimination law.”