U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v. Dekalb County, Georgia (N.D. Ga.)
On June 2, 2022, the United States filed a settlement agreement with the Court in United States v. DeKalb County, Georgia (N.D. Ga.) that resolved its lawsuit (filed at the same time) alleging the County retaliated against Cemetra Brooks because she complained about sexual harassment by her supervisor, the Director of the County’s Facilities Management Department, when it extended her original six-month probationary period by three months, and then fired her during the extended probation, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). Among its claims, the lawsuit alleged that, just one month after Brooks complained, the Deputy Director’s supervisor, the Department Director, contacted Human Resources asking for information from the County’s ongoing internal investigation of Brooks’ complaint that would help him fire her while she was still on probation. Under the settlement agreement, later entered by the Court, the County paid Brooks $190,000 for lost wages and compensatory damages. The agreement also required the County to develop, and submit to the Justice Department for approval, anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation policies and to provide managers in its Facilities Management Department with training on those policies and on the types of workplace conduct that constitute unlawful employment practices under Title VII.
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