Sprouts Market Settles Sexual Harassment Case with Feds
According to a news release from the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, the natural foods chain, Sprouts Farmers Market has settled a federal charge of sex discrimination including sexual harassment and retaliation filed with the agency.
The company apparently “subjected a group of employees to sexual harassment and retaliated against them for complaining about the harassment.”
Yikes.
Sadly, the amount of money the company is ordered to pay under the agreement is a paltry $265,000 “to a class of individuals affected by the harassment and retaliation.”
In addition, Sprouts must update its policies and investigation process, and of course, provide training; well duh.
Last year, a lawsuit was filed against Sprouts Farmers Market for terminating an employee after she complained about sexual harassment. That is illegal on top of illegal. (It’s not clear if the settlement is about this case but it appears so.)
Hey employers: if you get a complaint about illegal conduct, you must investigate it; retaliating against the complainer will often make things worse for you. Does Sprouts even have legal counsel?
Some of the disgusting details of the “harassment”, which is far too light a term for it, are available here. (I had to stop reading, it is that gross.)
Most importantly, this was not an isolated incident. The EEOC also found numerous violations occurring throughout Southern California:
“since at least August 2019 to present, there is reasonable cause to believe that [Sprouts] subjected a class of [Sprouts’] female and male employees within District 52 (including the Monrovia, Thousand Oaks, Burbank, Granada Hills, Eagle Rock, and West Hills stores) to sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and retaliation for engaging in protected activity, including, but not limited to, for complaining about sexual harassment, in violation of the Civil Rights Act.”
It’s always disheartening to read about such allegations in the natural food world. But women are just not safe anywhere it seems.
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