Line Lead Subjected Employee to Sexual Comments and Touching, Federal Agency Charges

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Premier Employee Solutions LLC (Premier), an Arizona company that provides temporary labor to a variety of industries, violated federal law when it subjected a female employee to a sexually hostile work environment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Sarah Isley began working for Premier around January 2016. She was assigned as a temporary employee at the Del Monte Fresh Produce, N.A., Inc. facility in Whitsett, N.C. From February 2016 to around April of that year, a male line lead employed by Premier subjected Isley to sexual harassment on a daily or near daily basis. The sexual conduct involved comments, sexual gestures and physical touching, including, on one occasion, the line lead grabbing Isley's breasts. Isley complained to Premier about the sexual harassment, but the harassment continued.

This alleged behavior violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from allowing a sexually hostile work environment to exist in the workplace. The EEOC filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (EEOC v. Premier Employee Solutions LLC, Case No. 1:18-cv-00823) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC seeks monetary relief, including compensatory and punitive damages for Isley, as well as injunctive relief.

"Sexual harassment is always unacceptable and unlawful in any workplace," said Kara G. Haden, acting regional attorney for the EEOC's Charlotte District. "Employers must take appropriate action to stop employees from harassing other employees"