Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Denver Hotel Forced To Pay $105,000 To Settle “Sex Discrimination” Suit Filed By “Equal Employment Opportunity Commission” (EEOC)

The suit alleged that the company denied an employee a promotion because of her gender, and “due to its discriminatory and stereotyped assumptions regarding [the worker’s] ability to do the job because of her status as a woman with young children.”

“Making assumptions about a woman’s ability to perform a job which are not grounded in fact, but instead on stereotyped assumptions about her inability to work long hours due to her child care responsibilities, is unlawful discrimination,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill.

The owner of Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel & Spa has agreed to pay $105,000 to settle a sex-discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the EEOC announced Wednesday.

The agency filed the suit on July 20 in U.S. District Court in Denver against Brown Palace owner Denver Hotel Management Co. Inc.

Discrimination based on a woman’s caregiver status is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC said.

At the time the suit was filed, Marcel Pitton, the hotel’s managing director, said the agency’s allegations were “unfounded,” and no admission of guilt was announced Wednesday.

“The Brown Palace Hotel is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a workplace free of unlawful discrimination. We are proud of our diverse workforce and the talent of our staff in delivering exceptional hospitality,” Pitton said in a July statement.

According to an EEOC statement, Denver Hotel Management has agreed “to revamp its discrimination policies and conduct training for all of its employees to explain how stereotypes concerning a person’s family responsibilities can constitute illegal sex discrimination.”

Read more: Brown Palace owner settles EEOC suit | Denver Business Journal