The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a regional Coca-Cola bottler for allegedly discriminating against male employees after hosting a 2024 women-only networking event.
The federal agency that enforced workplace civil rights claimed in its Tuesday lawsuit that male employees of Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast “suffered damages” after a September 2024 two-day event at the Mohegan Sun casino resort in Connecticut featuring around 250 female employees. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, follows the agency’s failure to reach a conciliation agreement with the company.
The EEOC said the New Hampshire-based company that operates within seven states violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees from discrimination, by denying male employees the same resources and opportunities afforded to female employees.
The company is an independent bottler and authorized distributor owned by the Japanese-based Krin Brewery. Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast and the EEOC did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
According to the lawsuit, Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast hosted the employer-sponsored trip and networking event on Sept. 10 and Sept. 11, 2024. During the work trip, the company allegedly paid the attendees their normal salaries, provided hotel rooms, food, and beverages, and featured speakers, including company executives, who discussed their career paths.
“Defendant’s exclusion of male employees from attending and participating in the event on September 10, 2024, and September 11, 2024, constitutes a denial of equal compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of sex,” the lawsuit says.
The EEOC is demanding that the company compensate male employees for their “emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, and other nonpecuniary losses” in amounts that will be determined in court, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit comes two weeks after the agency announced its investigation into Nike for allegedly discriminating against white workers through its diversity-related policies and programs.
A Nike spokesperson previously told NBC News that the company will respond to the agency’s petition and was in the “process of providing additional information.”
“This feels like a surprising and unusual escalation,” a Nike spokesperson said. “We have had extensive, good-faith participation in an EEOC inquiry into our personnel practices, programs, and decisions and have had ongoing efforts to provide information and engage constructively with the agency.”
President Donald Trump named Andrea Lucas as the EEOC Chair in November 2025. Over a month later, Lucas urged white men to file a claim with the agency if they had experienced workplace discrimination based on race and sex in a social media video.
