Owner of Organic Foods Company Repeatedly Harassed Female Workers and Ignored Complaints About His Behavior, Federal Agency Charges

DETROIT – Eden Foods, Inc., an organic foods company headquartered in Clinton, Michigan that claims to be the premier natural foods company in the Americas, violated federal law by subjecting female employees to repeated sexual harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Eden’s owner and president touched multiple female employees inappropriately. The EEOC’s pre-suit investigation revealed that the company’s owner regularly touched the backs, shoulders and legs of female employees, often sitting with his leg pressed up against them for hours at a time. He also kissed them and touched at least one employee on the buttocks.

The EEOC also charged that the owner regularly injected sex into the workplace by making lewd comments and referring to women in crude sexual terms. When Eden’s HR representative confronted the owner with complaints from certain women, he laughed and said, “all these girls want me.” Even after multiple women complained, his behavior continued, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination (including sexual harassment). The EEOC filed suit (Case No. 2:22-CV-10881 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC is seeking compensation for the female employees and an injunction prohibiting the company from engaging in similar conduct in the future.

“Even 58 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC continues to see complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace,” said Miles Uhlar, trial attorney for the EEOC’s Detroit Field Office. “The EEOC will always stand up to those who believe their position of power carries with it the right to behave in such a way.”

The EEOC’s Detroit Field Office is part of the Indianapolis District Office, which oversees Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and parts of Ohio.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.