HoneyBaked Ham settles EEOC sexual harassment, retaliation lawsuit

The Original HoneyBaked Ham Co. of Georgia Inc. will pay $370,000 to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EEOC said Wednesday that female employees in the Alpharetta, Ga.-based firm’s Colorado stores were subjected to sexual harassment and were fired or otherwise retaliated against if they complained. The EEOC said Wendy Cabrera, a former supervisor in its Highlands Ranch, Colo., store was terminated after she complained of harassment to corporate headquarters.

In addition to paying the $370,000 to Ms. Cabrera and a class of female employees to resolve the case, the company also agreed to train all its employees on sexual harassment and the anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

“Sadly, sexual harassment remains a prevalent problem in many workplaces,” Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney in the EEOC Phoenix District Office, said in a statement. “Employers need to be very careful to respond to sexual harassment complaints — to take them seriously and stop the sexual harassment, certainly not punish the victims.”

A company spokesman could not be reached for comment.