Opinion ID: 2772994
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Barnes’s 2010 EEOC Complaint

Text: On October 4, 2010, Barnes filed a charge of race and gender discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), alleging that, after returning from a leave of absence, she was notified that she was under investigation for “allegedly accepting vendor gift cards” and for having non-work related documents on her “Associate” is evidently a term used within Nationwide as a synonym for 1 “employee.” 3 computer. (Barnes Br. at 9.) She also alleged that Verbeke had harassed her since 2008 in the following ways: (1) he routinely reviewed and pulled files from her computer in an attempt to locate non-work related documents, which he did not do with other associates’ computers; (2) he eavesdropped on her phone conversations, which he did not do with other associates; and (3) he would send emails to Oliphant regarding Barnes’s arrival and departure times in hopes of initiating disciplinary action. After an investigation, the EEOC decided not to pursue Barnes’s matter further and sent her a right-to-sue letter. The EEOC specifically explained that, as to the allegation about vendor gift cards, an internal investigation by Nationwide had concluded that Barnes did not accept or use gift cards from outside vendors. And, as to Barnes’s allegation that Verbeke improperly accessed her computer and eavesdropped on her phone calls, the EEOC noted that Nationwide regularly reminded employees that company computers and telephones are subject to remote access and monitoring.