Fresno company Select Staffing has agreed to pay $500,000 and change its employment practices to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency said Thursday.

EEOC filed the lawsuit on behalf of a class of female agricultural workers, including many temporary employees directly hired by Select Staffing.

This settlement follows a related case against Fowler-based National Raisin, which resulted in a $2 million fund for affected workers, bringing the total settlement amount to $2.5 million for the class members.

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The EEOC’s lawsuit alleged that female workers placed by Select Staffing at a National Raisin production facility were subjected to a sexually hostile work environment and retaliation. Despite Select Staffing’s on-site supervision, the staffing agency failed to address widespread harassment by both managers and employees, the EEOC alleged.

“We are seeing repeated issues with staffing agencies who ignore harassment of temporary workers on assignment,” said Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office, which includes Fresno in its jurisdiction.

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The allegations included frequent unwanted groping, sexually explicit comments, requests for sexual favors, and retaliatory terminations following complaints of harassment. The EEOC charged that Select Staffing did not take appropriate corrective measures after receiving complaints, instead relying on National Raisin to respond to the issues.

These actions were deemed to violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment and retaliation for complaints. The EEOC initially attempted to resolve the issue through its administrative conciliation process before filing a lawsuit.

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The consent decree includes the direct monitoring by the EEOC, mandatory training for temporary workers on their Title VII rights, management training on preventing and addressing harassment, and a requirement for Select Staffing to track and communicate about harassment complaints effectively.

Have a Claim?

A claims process will be established for women who experienced harassment or retaliation.

For more information or to file a claim, contact the EEOC at (213) 785-3093 or via email at National-SelectPCM@eeoc.gov.

For more information on sexual harassment discrimination, visit: https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment. For additional information on retaliation, visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.