Federal judge dismisses EEOC case vs. Sterling

Buffalo, N.Y.--A New York federal judge has thrown out the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s claim that Sterling Jewelers Inc. engaged in a nationwide practice of paying its female employees less and passing them over for promotions.

In an order signed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, federal judge Richard J. Arcara stated that after considering the report and recommendation filed by Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy in January, statements from both sides and oral arguments, he has opted to dismiss the EEOC’s claim with prejudice for “the reasons set forth in Magistrate Judge McCarthy’s Report and Recommendation.”

The EEOC filed suit against Sterling Jewelers in September 2008 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, accusing the jeweler of exhibiting a nationwide pattern of gender discrimination when it came to pay and promotions.

The suit was filed on behalf of some 44,000 female employees of Sterling Jewelers--making it the largest suit ever brought by the EEOC--and the EEOC said it had investigated, on a nationwide basis, claims of gender bias by the retailer.

Sterling denied the claims of discrimination and brought a motion stating that the EEOC investigated only one store in New York and two stores in Tampa, Fla. and did not conduct a thorough examination of the jeweler’s employment practices nationwide, as it had claimed.

In his ruling issued Jan. 2, McCarthy sided with Sterling, stating that the EEOC failed to prove it conducted a thorough, nationwide investigation of the retailer’s employment practices prior to filing the lawsuit, an assertion backed by Monday’s ruling by the federal court judge.

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The claim being dismissed with prejudice means the action is final at the district court level, though the EEOC could appeal, said attorney Gerald L. Maatman Jr., a partner at Seyfarth Shaw and the lead counsel for Sterling in the case.

“As defense counsel we are pleased with the ruling. We think it was well-reasoned and consistent with the evidence,” he said.

The EEOC said it has no comment.

A separate lawsuit filed by individuals charging Sterling Jewelers with discriminating against women in the workplace is still pending. 

Originally filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in March 2008, prior to the EEOC case, the suit is in arbitration. 

Washington-based