Earlier this week, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it had settled a lawsuit with California company Monterey Gourmet Foods Inc. The agency filed the sexual harassment suit against Monterey, with the company agreeing to pay over $500,000 to four employees, and to implement new company-wide sexual harassment training and other preventative measures.

The EEOC lawsuit was filed in January of 2010, after four former Monterey employees filed reports against the company. According to their complaints, the one male and three female employees, who worked as lasagna, tamale and ravioli pickers, had been subjected to sexual harassment from one male crew leader for over two years at the company's Salinas plant. The harassment detailed in the reports included comments and gestures of a sexual nature, pornographic text messages, and unwanted physical contact.

According to the employees, they repeatedly reported the alleged harassment to the company's management and human resources departments, but the crew leader was not reprimanded or terminated, and the harassment continued. They filed discrimination charges with the EEOC in the spring of 2008, and were laid off a few weeks later.

The EEOC filed a lawsuit against the company in January of 2010, which was resolved in a settlement earlier this week. Under the terms of that settlement, Monterey will pay $535,000 to the four terminated employees. In addition, the company will create and implement a new anti-harassment policy, with sexual harassment training for all members of the management staff. It will also make periodic status reports of all harassment complaints to the EEOC.

Source: The Californian, "Monterey Gourmet Foods settles sexual harassment lawsuit," Sunita Vijayan, 27 May 2011