Tres Hijas Berry Farms to Pay $200,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

CAMARILLO, Calif. – Tres Hijas Berry Farms, LLC, will pay $200,000 and furnish injunctive relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. The EEOC brought the lawsuit on behalf of a class of agricultural workers, whose primary language is Spanish.

The EEOC’s suit said Tres Hijas Berry Farms subjected both female and male workers to a sexually charged hostile work environment at its Camarillo fields. Sexual harassment was perpetrated by the farm’s supervisor and included repeated, frequent and offensive sex-based remarks and unwelcome physical touching. The lawsuit also charged that even when comments were made within earshot of other supervisors and managers, none took corrective action. The EEOC said Tres Hijas Berry Farms failed to monitor the workplace, failed to properly investigate and respond to complaints, discouraged additional complaints from being filed, and retaliated against those who complained.

Such alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment, and retaliation for complaining about discrimination. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Tres Hijas Berry Farms, LLC, Case No. 2:22-cv-01919-MWF-Ex) in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.

In addition to the monetary relief, the decree requires Tres Hijas Berry Farms to institute the following injunctive relief: appoint an EEO monitor; review and revise policies and procedures to bring them into compliance with Title VII; ensure all employees are trained on discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; and conduct audits to ensure that employees, including supervisors and managers are held accountable with respect to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Tres Hijas will also institute a complaint procedure, including a toll-free complaint hotline and an online complaint process and maintain records regarding complaints and their investigations and outcomes.

The decree will remain under the court’s jurisdiction for the duration of the three years.

“Sexual harassment continues to be an ongoing problem in the agricultural industry, where workers may be isolated from each other based upon location or language,” said Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office. “The EEOC will continue to prioritize these cases. Employers in the agricultural industry must start recognizing these ongoing issues and make drastic changes in order to create safe and harassment free workplaces for their employees.”

Los Angeles District Director Christine Park-Gonzalez said, “This situation was brought to our attention by one of our community partners, Lideres Campesinas, without whom we may not have been able to provide such significant relief to the workers who were harassed and retaliated against.”

According to its website, www.liderescampesinas.org, Lideres Campesinas’s mission is to strengthen the leadership of farmworker women and youth so that they can be agents of economic, social and political change and ensure their human rights.

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

Protecting vulnerable workers and underserved workers, from employment discrimination is a priority for the EEOC under the Strategic Enforcement Plan for Fiscal Years 2024 - 2028 https://www.eeoc.gov/strategic-enforcement-plan-fiscal-years-2024-2028.

The Los Angeles District includes central and southern California, southern Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Wake Island, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands with offices in Los Angeles, Fresno, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Honolulu.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.