Reuters reported yesterday that the EEOC has just sued a pawn shop chain in Brooklyn and Queens (that’s NYC), owned by a convicted fence known as “Fat Frank.”  The EEOC alleged that he fired five female employees after they complained that he called virtually all of the 40 female employees, who are mostly Hispanic, racial and sexual epithets:  “whipping slaves” “black bastards,” and “my bitches.”

We have written before about the EEOC’s announced intent to protect “vulnerable” workers: we said on June 5th:  “‘The most vulnerable workers’ — this is a part of the EEOC’s strategic plan for enforcement.  Protecting them, that is, as we noted before – think farm workers, migrant workers, workers in isolated areas, and mentally-challenged Henry’s Turkey workers.”

With respect to the curent lawsuit, an EEOC attorney said that “The EEOC will take swift and firm action when vulnerable workers are targeted for abuse and harassment. We also will move quickly to enforce the law when workers are fired simply for taking steps to stop such abuse.”

The EEOC alleged additionally that “Fat Frank” threatened them with physical violence and termination; ordered them to “bend over so that he could ogle them from behind … rub his belly, and change the bed sheets in a bedroom attached to one of the pawn shops;”  said that he would  “make babies with all” of them; asked for graphic details about how they used tampons; and said that the store smelled because “the monkeys are coming in.”