Dresser Rand has settled a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which charged the manufacturer with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion.
Dresser Rand will pay $110,000 in addition to other relief, the federal agency said.
According to the lawsuit, Dresser Rand refused to accommodate the request of an employee employed at the company's Painted Post, N.Y., location. That employee, a Jehovah's Witness, had a religious objection to working on weapons of war and refused to work on a component for a submarine. Not only did the manufacturer decline the employee's request to switch work assignments, according to the EEOC, but Dresser Rand fired the worker.
The lawsuit was filed in September 2004 and was settled as a result of court-supervised mediation.
In addition to the monetary relief, Dresser Rand has amended its equal employment opportunity policy and will post notices about discrimination law at its Painted Post location, the federal agency said. The manufacturer also will conduct anti-discrimination training under the terms of the consent decree.
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