A food manufacturer settles a lawsuit over allegations of sexual harassment at its Michigan facility

Pero Family Farms Food Company, LLC, will pay $40,000 in compensatory damages and other relief to settle an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC lawsuit alleged that Pero Family Farms maintained a sexually hostile work environment at its facility in Benton Harbor, Michigan, by allowing an employee to sexually harass a female co-worker until she obtained a personal protection order.

The alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Pero Family Farms Food Co., LLC, Case No. 1:23-cv-622) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan after first trying to reach a pre-litigation solution through it. the administrative conciliation process.

Pero Family Farms is prohibited from subjecting employees to sexual harassment, creating or maintaining a sexually hostile work environment, and retaliating against any employee for complaining about harassment, according to the three-year settlement decree sexual or participates in a sexual act. harassment investigation. Pero Family Farms will also revise its sexual harassment policies, train employees and human resources staff on Title VII sexual harassment and retaliation provisions, and establish and maintain a 24-hour hotline through which employees can report harassment complaints anonymously.

Source: EEOC

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Michigan lawsuits