Meat Packing Company Subjected Female Employees to Unwanted Touching and Comments, Federal Agency Charges
LOS ANGELES - Clougherty Packing, LLC, dba Farmer John, a Los Angeles-based meat processing company, will pay $100,000 and furnish other relief to resolve a sexual harassment case brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today. The EEOC charged the company with violating federal law by subjecting a class of female workers to sexual harassment.
According to the EEOC's suit, the company's supervisors and employees sexually harassed female employees. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed its suit U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (EEOC v. Clougherty Packing, LLC dba Farmer John, Case No.: 2:17-cv-07221) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
In addition to the $100,000 in monetary relief, the two-year consent decree settling the suit requires the company to review and revise company policies to comport with Title VII; implement effective training for both supervisors and staff on Title VII; develop a centralized tracking system for employees' discrimination complaints; and submit reports to EEOC verifying compliance with the decree.
"We commend the efforts by Clougherty Packing / Farmer John in reaching a resolution with EEOC that provides both meaningful monetary relief and important equitable relief for the affected female employees," said Anna Park, the regional attorney for EEOC's Los Angeles District Office.
Rosa Viramontes, director of the Los Angeles District Office, added, "The EEOC continues to see cases of workplace harassment perpetrated by supervisors and managers. We commend an employer like Clougherty Packing that is willing to make changes to its policies to better the working environment for all employees."
