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Costume Company Settles Harassment Suit for $299,000 And Employee Training

November 26, 2007

PHOENIX - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Monday it settled a lawsuit against a Phoenix makeup manufacturer for terms that include a $299,000 payment and providing training aimed at educating employees about sexual harassment, retaliation and their rights. A parent company, New York-based Rubie's Costume Company, was also named in the lawsuit, which alleged that several managers at their Phoenix facility sexually harassed eight female employees and then retaliated against three of them for complaining about the unlawful conduct.

Phoenix-based Collegeville/Imagineering Enterprises and its parent company, New York-based Rubie's Costume Co. Inc., were named in the lawsuit, which alleges that several managers at their Phoenix facility sexually harassed eight female employees and then retaliated against three of them for complaining about the unlawful conduct.

Collegeville said to the press last week that is has consistently denied the allegations on the seven year-old claim, but the settlement allows it to focus to business operations rather than further defending against dated claims.

The EEOC said the company's top manager, Mark Nitz, touched female employees on their shoulders and thighs, brushed his body against theirs and invited at least one employee out on a date, telling her she would not have to clock out if she agreed to go out with him.

Two other managers were charged in the complaint with touching female employees' private parts, making lewd comments to them and exposing himself to other employees while at the workplace.

The lawsuit alleges that after employees complained of inappropriate conduct, Nitz and others retaliated against three of the harassed employees by demoting them from their supervisory role, isolating them, and in one case, making threats against an employee's physical safety.

In addition to calling for payment of $299,000 to the eight women, the EEOC consent decree requires Collegeville and Rubie's to provide training and other relief aimed at educating employees about sexual harassment, retaliation and their rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Marc P. Beige, president, of Rubie's Costume Co. in New York, said, this investigation goes back to 2002, when he conducted his own investigation into the matter. "We thought we had taken care of the situation. We found managers who were harsh and had terminated one and suspended another, but there was no sexual harassment."

The company continues to claim it's innocence, saying: "The EEOC was unable to prove its allegations of sexual harassment or retaliation. Nevertheless, after the EEOC reduced its settlement demand to 10 percent of the claimed liability, it became apparent that the quick settlement proposed by the media-hungry EEOC would be far less costly than the disruption and attorneys' fees associated with years of continued litigation."

"While trial would have vindicated our position, the additional costs and disruption to the business are not worth it," Nitz said in the release.

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