Third Bench Holdings to Pay $165,000 in EEOC Retaliation Lawsuit

Millwork and Cabinetry Company Settles Federal Lawsuit Charging Retaliation Against Three Employees Following Discrimination Reports

Third Bench Holdings LLC will pay $165,000 and furnish other relief to settle a lawsuit for unlawful retaliation filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced. Third Bench Holdings is a New Mexico-based company which owns and operates a subsidiary, Las Cruces Cabinets LLC doing business as Sher-Wood Cabinetry in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the general manager complained that a company official discriminated against her based on what she believed to be her Hispanic national origin. In response to her complaint, the human resources director investigated the complaint, including interviewing the employee’s husband, who worked with the same company.

The suit said that one day after the investigation began, the general manager was demoted and her husband was fired. Shortly thereafter, the human resources director reported concerns about retaliatory treatment by the same company official who was the subject of the complaints. After she reported to higher management, the human resources director was then also fired, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for opposing unlawful behavior or participating in investigations or proceedings. The EEOC filed suit, Civil Action No. 2:23-cv-659, in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Under the terms of a three-year consent decree to be filed with the court, Third Bench Holdings will pay $165,000 in damages to the three employees. Third Bench will also provide significant non-monetary relief designed to ensure protection against retaliation for employees who oppose unlawful behavior or participate in investigations or proceedings. Third Bench will create new protocols for reporting harassment and discrimination, distribute these protocols, and then train all employees, including company leadership, on the new protocols and discrimination generally.

“We hope that the resolution of this case will create change for this Las Cruces employer and will serve as a reminder that EEOC will protect an employee’s right to speak out against what they reasonably believe is discrimination,” said Brian Hawthorne, trial attorney in the EEOC’s Dallas District Office.

Brooke López, trial attorney in the EEOC’s Dallas District Office, added, “We are pleased with the individualized relief obtained for the three claimants in this lawsuit. We are also encouraged by the employer’s commitment to injunctive relief, which includes annual training to be provided by a third party for the employer’s executive team.”

EEOC Regional Attorney Robert Canino said, “This case is important to this civil rights agency because it promotes an awareness by both employers and employees in parts of New Mexico within the jurisdiction of the EEOC’s Dallas District, that our laws and our efforts to encourage compliance have a far reach. With corrective and constructive approaches implemented, we also hope to create a long-term positive impact on the workplace wherever these issues arise.”

For more information on anti-retaliation protections, please visit www.eeoc.gov/retaliation. Additionally, for more information on national origin discrimination, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/national-origin-discrimination.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission