Raisin company settles sexual harassment and retaliation charges
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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that Sunshine Raisin Corp., which does business as National Raisin, agreed to pay $2 million to resolve a class action brought by non-English-speaking women who said they were subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation.
The women, who worked at National Raisin’s Fowler, California, facility, said managers and employees made explicit comments, requested sexual favors and groped them while they sorted and packaged dried fruit. The women also said they were threatened with retaliation if they reported the conduct, the EEOC said.
The agency sued National Raisin and employment staffing agency Select Staffing in federal court in California. National Raisin was accused of failing to take appropriate measures after receiving reports about the harassment and instead retaliated against those who submitted reports.
The EEOC said the National Raisin settlement does not affect its claims against Select Staffing.
In addition to the monetary settlement, National Raisin agreed to change its employment practices to prevent future sexual harassment by hiring a third-party monitor and providing “significant” training and reporting mechanisms for employees.
