A federal jury in Miami returned a unanimous verdict awarding a total of $17,425,000 to five former female employees of Moreno Farms Inc., a produce growing and packing operation in Felda, Fla., who suffered sexual harassment and retaliation, the EEOC said.
Two sons of the owner of Moreno Farms and a third male supervisor engaged in graphic acts of sexual harassment against female workers in Moreno Farms’ packaging house, including regular groping and propositioning, threatening female employees with termination if they refused the supervisors’ sexual advances, and attempting to rape, and raping, multiple female employees, according to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. All five women were ultimately fired for opposing the three men’s sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida last August after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
The “EEOC has been at the forefront of combating employment discrimination on behalf of farmworkers,” said EEOC General Counsel David Lopez. “We are committed to ensuring that all immigrant and vulnerable populations are protected by the anti-discrimination laws, and this is the latest in a number of successful cases that we have litigated to stop these discriminatory practices.”
On Sept. 10, the jury returned a verdict awarding $2,425,000 in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages to the five female farmworkers, the EEOC said.
The trial was limited to damages, as the corporate defendant defaulted and did not participate in the trial. The court has also reserved jurisdiction to hear requests for injunctive relief from EEOC as well as whether those damages awarded for violations of Title VII should be reduced to statutory damage caps.
Preventing workplace harassment through systemic litigation and investigation is one of the six national priorities identified by the Commission’s Strategic Enforcement Plan. Eliminating practices that prohibit individuals from exercising their rights under employment discrimination statutes is another one of EEOC’s six national priorities.
