©2026 Seyfarth Shaw LLP EEOC-INITIATED LITIGATION: 2026 EDITION | 72 EEOC v. Action Insulation Co., Case No. 4:25cv152 (S.D. Ga.). The EEOC filed suit on behalf of a female office manager, alleging that the owner subjected the female office manager to unwelcome sexual harassment, including unwanted sexual comments and jokes, showing her lewd photographs, and touching her in an unwanted manner. The office manager complained to the company, but the company failed to take action to prevent further harassment. After a physical assault, the office manager resigned. The EEOC alleges violations of Title VII based on sex. D. Retail The EEOC filed a number of lawsuits against retail companies in 2025, with an emphasis on disabilitybased discrimination and failures to accommodate under the ADA. The EEOC also filed several lawsuits alleging religious discrimination under Title VII and age discrimination under the ADEA. KEY CASES FILED IN FY 2025 EEOC v. Walmart Inc., 2:25-cv-1480 (E.D. Wis.). The EEOC filed suit on behalf of two employees with intellectual disabilities who worked at cart pushers. The lawsuit alleges that supervisors subjected the employees to a hostile work environment based on their disabilities, calling them ableist slurs. One employee quit after the store manager allegedly refused to address the supervisor’s harassing conduct. The other employee alleged the company refused to grant the employee a reasonable accommodation of a job coach, asserting store managers and HR representatives refused to allow the job coaches into the facility and repeatedly refused to discuss the employee’s schedule, training needs, need for breaks, and harassment experience. The EEOC alleges violations of the ADA. EEOC v. Barnes & Noble College Booksellers LLC, Case No. 3:25-cv-8142 (N.D. Cal.). The EEOC filed suit on behalf of a female employee, who requested unpaid leave beyond the 90-day maximum permitted under the company’s leave policy following a pre-term labor and postpartum depression diagnosis. The EEOC alleges that the employee was encouraged to resign and ultimately was fired. The lawsuit alleges disability discrimination and failure to accommodate under the ADA. 11 Retail Industry Merit Cases Filed in FY 2025 Atlanta St. Louis San Francisco Chicago Washington, DC Charlotte Philadelphia 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 EEOC District Offices Bringing Suit & Number of Lawsuits Brought by Each District Statutory Basis for Suit 9: ADA 2: Title VII ©2026 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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