Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Upjohn Corp.

**EEOC v. Upjohn Corporation: Court Allows Discrimination Case to Proceed** This case involved discrimination and retaliation claims against Upjohn Corporation (now part of Pfizer). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought the lawsuit on behalf of workers who alleged they faced workplace discrimination, retaliation for complaining about unfair treatment, and harassment that was so severe it forced them to quit their jobs. Upjohn tried to get the case thrown out of court before it could go to trial, but the judge refused. The court ruled that Upjohn could be held responsible for discrimination that occurred at a subsidiary company, finding that the companies operated as an "integrated enterprise" or that one company acted as an agent for the other. The EEOC had already determined there was reasonable cause to believe discrimination and retaliation occurred against employee Boney, and that employee Benischek was constructively discharged (forced to quit due to intolerable working conditions). **What this means for workers:** This ruling shows that large corporations cannot easily escape responsibility for discrimination by claiming their subsidiary companies are separate entities. Workers can potentially hold parent companies accountable for workplace violations, even when the discrimination occurs at a subsidiary level.