TCI of Alabama to Pay $2.6 Million in EEOC Sex Discrimination Lawsuit

According to the EEOC, Alabama recycler TCI of Alabama, LLC, will pay $2.6 million and provide other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit, the federal agency announced today. The EEOC’s suit charged that TCI intentionally violated federal law by engaging in a long-standing pattern of refusing to hire female laborers at its Pell City, Alabama recycling plant, potentially impacting thousands of women. According to the complaint, starting in 2006 when the company purchased the plant, through late 2022, the company intentionally hired only men for laborer positions and converted showers and locker rooms to male-only facilities. When TCI began outsourcing its labor staffing to third-party agencies, it directed them to refer only male applicants even when qualified female candidates were available. “Employers cannot evade Title VII by outsourcing their hiring and directing staffing agencies to carry out their discriminatory preferences based on sex,” said Marsha Rucker, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Birmingham District. “The EEOC will aggressively pursue staffing agencies who comply with unlawful requests under federal law and employers who refuse to hire qualified females.” This alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits denying qualified individuals employment based on their sex. (EEOC v. TCI of Alabama, LLC, Case No. 4:25-cv-00089-CLM)