An Eastern Plains pig farm has agreed to pay $334,500 after multiple female employees reported routine sexual comments, propositions for sex and were intruded on while showering, frequently touched and grabbed without permission.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the settlement agreement with Midwest Farms, LLC and Midwest Capital Services, LLC, a Colorado agribusiness based in Burlington that owns rural farms around the area.
The investigation into Midwest Farms started in 2023, after the federal government received a complaint of harassment from a former employee.
That employee, whom CPR News is not naming because she is a victim of sexual harassment, started as a swine production trainee in September 2018.
The woman’s job included transporting hogs of various sizes between buildings, feeding and caring for them and cleaning the buildings. The job required her to “shower in” at the start of the workday because she worked directly with the animals.
At least three times, the woman’s manager barged into the women’s dressing room without knocking or announcing his presence while the new employee was undressing or undressed. At one point, about a month into her job, he watched her take a shower. In a third incident, he entered the dressing room unannounced and forced the woman to work the remainder of her shift in a man’s jumpsuit without undergarments.
When the woman called the manager’s office to complain, the production manager told her to “work things out” on her own with her boss, according to the complaint.
The woman was eventually forced to resign from Midwest Farms in November 2018.
The EEOC complaint states a number of other female employees were subjected to a hostile work environment at the business because of their gender. They were subjected to unwelcome sexual requests, advances and vulgar language. They were also subjected to touching and propositions, according to the complaint.
The company not only failed to address any of the complaints, they also retaliated against the women after they complained about harassment — often subjecting them to adverse terms and conditions of employment or firings, the complaint said.
The $334,500 will go directly to the initial complainant and two other women who were subject to discrimination. The company has agreed to not retaliate against anyone who reports discrimination complaints. The company did not admit any wrongdoing, but must issue a “letter of regret” to the women affected and they are to serve as a neutral reference for the women for future employment, court documents say.
There will be an appointment of an independent monitor whose duty will be to ensure compliance with the consent decree and the company denies any allegations that they engaged in any unlawful conduct and do not make any admission of liability, according to the consent decree filed last week in federal court.
Representatives of Midwest Farms did not respond to an email and a phone call to comment on this story.
“The EEOC fought for decades to ensure women had the right to their own restrooms, locker rooms, sleeping quarters and other sex-specific workplace facilities,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “And the agency remains committed to protecting women and their sex-based rights in every workplace.”
