Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive parts retailer, is facing a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for failing to protect its employees from harassment based on race and sexual orientation. According to the EEOC, both coworkers and customers subjected gay and Black employees to hostile work environments, violating federal anti-discrimination laws.
The lawsuit claims that a gay assistant manager was harassed by coworkers who refused to follow her instructions and called her derogatory names targeting her sexual orientation. Additionally, Black employees experienced racial harassment, with coworkers using racial slurs, including the “n-word,” and a customer making a deeply offensive comment, stating he would pay a Black employee “the same thing [your] grandfather was paid for picking cotton.” Despite these incidents, Advance Auto Parts allegedly failed to take prompt and appropriate action to address the harassment.
The EEOC charges that this conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex and race. The lawsuit (EEOC v. Advance Auto Parts, Inc., Discount Auto Parts LLC, Case No. 24-cv-81200) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida after attempts to resolve the matter through administrative conciliation failed.
Kristen Foslid, EEOC Miami Regional Attorney, stressed that employers are legally required to investigate and address race and sex-based harassment. She warned that companies that neglect to act against such discriminatory behavior will face legal repercussions. Similarly, EEOC Miami Office Director Evangeline Hawthorne emphasized that hostile work environments based on race and sexual orientation are unacceptable and that the EEOC is committed to holding employers accountable.
For more information on hostile work environments, race, and sex-based discrimination, visit the EEOC’s website at https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment.
