COMPANY AGREES TO PAY OVER $182,500 TO RESOLVE SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS
Because the owner and president of Eden Foods, Inc., engaged in misconduct which allegedly included, (and was not limited to), touching “multiple female employees inappropriately on their backs, shoulders and legs, sometimes sitting with his leg pressed up against a female employee for hours at a time,” and also “kissed multiple female employees without their consent and touched at least one on the buttocks,” the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, (EEOC v. Eden Foods, Inc., Case No: 2:22-cv-10881), alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In a press release, dated September 1, 2023, a resolution of the litigation was announced, and in addition to remitting compensatory damages in the amount of $182,500 (which will be shared by three female employees), together with additional monies to be paid to its marketing department manager, the company has agreed to modify its training and employment practices.
In a written statement, Miles Uhlar, a trial attorney in the Detroit Field Office of the EEOC’s Indianapolis District, noted that “The conduct of the Eden’s owner was egregious, continued unabated for years, and was verified by sworn affidavits and testimony of most of the marketing department, including multiple male employees ….The EEOC will always stand up to company owners who believe they have free license to sexually harass employees.”
That Eden was far from holy.
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