Line Lead Subjected Employee to Sexual Comments and Touching, Federal Agency Charged
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Premier Employee Solutions LLC, a Greensboro, Utah based company that provides temporary labor to a variety of industries, will pay $34,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Sarah Isley began working for Premier around February 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 2016, a male line lead employed by Premier subjected Isley to sexual harassment on a daily or near daily basis. The sexual conduct included inappropriate comments, sexual gestures, and physical touching, including one occasion where the line lead grabbed Isley's breasts. Isley complained to Premier about the sexual harassment, but the harassment continued.
Such alleged conduct 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 suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (EEOC v. Premier Employee Solutions LLC, Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-00823) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.
Under the consent decree resolving this case, Premier agreed to implement an amended anti-harassment policy; conduct training for managers, supervisors, and employees at its Greensboro, N.C. facility and the Whitsett facility where Isley worked; post an anti-discrimination notice at both facilities; and periodically report compliance to the EEOC for the duration of the decree.
"Sexual harassment is always unacceptable and unlawful in any workplace," said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC's Charlotte District Office. "The EEOC takes a company's failure to take appropriate action to stop sexual harassment very seriously and will prosecute cases where this kind of abuse occurs."
