Judge slams Harris Farms with ruling
Judge slams Harris Farms with ruling
Coalinga, CA-based Harris Farms Inc. was issued a permanent injunction Sept. 30 barring the company from retaliating against any person who reports or testifies about sexual harassment. The injunction also orders specific relief to prevent possible future discrimination.
In January, a Fresno, CA, jury unanimously found Harris Farms liable for sexual harassment, retaliation and the constructive termination of farm worker Olivia Tamayo, and returned a $994,000 verdict in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Ms. Tamayo.
Harris Farms is one of the larger agribusinesses in the nation and is California's largest cattle-feeding operation.
EEOCs regional attorney, William Tamayo, who is no relation to Ms. Tamayo, said that the EEOC sought injunctive relief against Harris Farms. Judge Anthony Ishii of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Fresno, granted the court order after he had rejected several motions by Harris Farms for a new trial.
In the court order for EEOC and Olivia Tamayo vs. Harris Farms Inc., Judge Ishii noted that Harris Farms officials made comments about the jury verdict to The Produce News that "do not indicate remorse."
Judge Ishii also found that Harris Farms Human Resources Director Sylvia Gomez who conducted an investigation of Ms. Tamayos sexual harassment complaint retaliated against Ms. Tamayo and still remains responsible for investigations. Judge Ishii wrote that Ms. Gomez plays a role in discipline and has not shown remorse, and [Harris Farms] has not shown any 'checks and balances over Gomez.
Judge Ishii concluded that there exists a cognizable danger of retaliation.
The court order requires that Harris Farms take remedial action under the courts supervision for a period of five years, including the following requirements:
" To expressly inform managers and supervisors that they have a duty to report retaliation or harassment that they witnessed.
" To encourage employees to make a harassment complaint if they have one and to assure employees that Harris Farms will not retaliate.
" To keep records of complaints and investigations of sexual harassment, and make reports to the EEOC.
" To post a notice in English and Spanish to employees regarding the 2005 jury verdict against Harris Farms describing the ban against retaliation, and include contact information for the EEOC.
At the January trial, Ms. Tamayo testified that her supervisor forcibly raped her several times, in addition to subjecting her to continuous verbal sexual harassment and intimidation. Ms. Tamayo, a Mexican immigrant who began picking crops for Harris Farms as a seasonal farmworker and later became a regular employee in 1985, also described sexually offensive and threatening gossip from co-workers, as well as retaliation, forcing a constructive discharge being given with no choice other than to resign.
This is one of 10 sexual harassment lawsuits filed by the EEOCs San Francisco District Office against a California agricultural employer and the first such case to go to trial.
EEOC Regional Attorney Mr. Tamayo said that the court looked at Harris Farms record and its post-verdict conduct to conclude that a permanent injunction was necessary.
While the jury verdict addressed the harm Ms. Tamayo suffered, this court order offers protection to current and future employees by mandating change at Harris Farms, Mr. Tamayo said.
Mr. Tamayo said that the EEOC filed the sexual harassment lawsuit in part to send a message to employers in the agriculture industry that workers must be protected against sexual harassment.
Lowell Carruth, the attorney for Harris Farms, said that he will appeal the Sept. 30 injunction. We had already filed an appeal of the underlying judgment prior to Sept. 30, Mr. Carruth said, adding that Judge Ishii reduced the judgment against Harris Farms by $200,000 to $794,000.
The law allows for a maximum of $300,000 in punitive damages, so Judge Ishii had to reduce the overall judgement by law, Mr. Carruth said.
In January, a Fresno, CA, jury unanimously found Harris Farms liable for sexual harassment, retaliation and the constructive termination of farm worker Olivia Tamayo, and returned a $994,000 verdict in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Ms. Tamayo.
Harris Farms is one of the larger agribusinesses in the nation and is California's largest cattle-feeding operation.
EEOCs regional attorney, William Tamayo, who is no relation to Ms. Tamayo, said that the EEOC sought injunctive relief against Harris Farms. Judge Anthony Ishii of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Fresno, granted the court order after he had rejected several motions by Harris Farms for a new trial.
In the court order for EEOC and Olivia Tamayo vs. Harris Farms Inc., Judge Ishii noted that Harris Farms officials made comments about the jury verdict to The Produce News that "do not indicate remorse."
Judge Ishii also found that Harris Farms Human Resources Director Sylvia Gomez who conducted an investigation of Ms. Tamayos sexual harassment complaint retaliated against Ms. Tamayo and still remains responsible for investigations. Judge Ishii wrote that Ms. Gomez plays a role in discipline and has not shown remorse, and [Harris Farms] has not shown any 'checks and balances over Gomez.
Judge Ishii concluded that there exists a cognizable danger of retaliation.
The court order requires that Harris Farms take remedial action under the courts supervision for a period of five years, including the following requirements:
" To expressly inform managers and supervisors that they have a duty to report retaliation or harassment that they witnessed.
" To encourage employees to make a harassment complaint if they have one and to assure employees that Harris Farms will not retaliate.
" To keep records of complaints and investigations of sexual harassment, and make reports to the EEOC.
" To post a notice in English and Spanish to employees regarding the 2005 jury verdict against Harris Farms describing the ban against retaliation, and include contact information for the EEOC.
At the January trial, Ms. Tamayo testified that her supervisor forcibly raped her several times, in addition to subjecting her to continuous verbal sexual harassment and intimidation. Ms. Tamayo, a Mexican immigrant who began picking crops for Harris Farms as a seasonal farmworker and later became a regular employee in 1985, also described sexually offensive and threatening gossip from co-workers, as well as retaliation, forcing a constructive discharge being given with no choice other than to resign.
This is one of 10 sexual harassment lawsuits filed by the EEOCs San Francisco District Office against a California agricultural employer and the first such case to go to trial.
EEOC Regional Attorney Mr. Tamayo said that the court looked at Harris Farms record and its post-verdict conduct to conclude that a permanent injunction was necessary.
While the jury verdict addressed the harm Ms. Tamayo suffered, this court order offers protection to current and future employees by mandating change at Harris Farms, Mr. Tamayo said.
Mr. Tamayo said that the EEOC filed the sexual harassment lawsuit in part to send a message to employers in the agriculture industry that workers must be protected against sexual harassment.
Lowell Carruth, the attorney for Harris Farms, said that he will appeal the Sept. 30 injunction. We had already filed an appeal of the underlying judgment prior to Sept. 30, Mr. Carruth said, adding that Judge Ishii reduced the judgment against Harris Farms by $200,000 to $794,000.
The law allows for a maximum of $300,000 in punitive damages, so Judge Ishii had to reduce the overall judgement by law, Mr. Carruth said.
