Hotels must pay EEOC legal fees for contempt of consent decree

Companies that own an east side Indianapolis hotel have been ordered to pay the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission $57,248 in attorney fees and costs after violating a consent decree settling a race discrimination lawsuit.

About 75 African-American housekeeping staff who were fired or denied employment on the basis of their race won $355,000 in a 2012 settlement with Noble Management LLC and New Indianapolis Hotels LLC. The companies operate a Hampton Inn on Shadeland Avenue near Interstate 70, and the EEOC alleged the hotels fired, underpaid or excluded African-American housekeepers or applicants who were equally or better qualified than Hispanic applicants who were hired.

District Judge William T. Lawrence of the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Indiana found the hotels were in contempt of the consent decree for failing to comply with provisions regarding job postings, training, new hiring procedures, recordkeeping and reinstatement.

“Defendants willfully violated the explicit terms of the Consent Decree and repeatedly failed to comply with it,” Lawrence wrote this week in EEOC v. New Indianapolis Hotels, LLC, et al., 1:10-CV-1234. The order grants EEOC $50,515 in legal fees and $6,733 in costs to litigate the contempt motion in the case that is now more than five years old.

“With respect to the public purpose served by the EEOC’s success, the Court finds that the result deters unlawful conduct by the Defendants, which accomplishes a public goal and furthers the public interest in deterring employment discrimination,” Lawrence wrote.

“Moreover, the contempt proceeding took just short of a year and required much briefing and discovery, including seven depositions, and a four-hour evidentiary hearing. As such, the Court finds that an award of $50,515 for attorneys and paralegal fees is reasonable in relation to the difficulty, stakes, and outcome of the contempt motion.”