East Jordan Plastics, Inc., a manufacturer of plastic horticultural containers, has agreed to pay $460,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
According to the suit, a class of female employees at the company’s Beaverton location was sexually harassed by a male co-worker, whose conduct included offensive sexual comments and inappropriate touching. Despite being made aware of the harassment through at least two complaints from different women, the company took no disciplinary action against the harasser. The suit alleged that the harassing conduct continued until another female employee complained and following this complaint, the company finally conducted interviews and terminated the male employee.
“We applaud East Jordan Plastics for working with us promptly to reach a settlement,” EEOC Indianapolis regional attorney Kenneth Bird said in a statement. “This early resolution demonstrates a commitment to achieving a harassment-free workplace.”
East Jordan Plastics did not respond to a request for comment.
Under the consent decree resolving the lawsuit, East Jordan Plastics will pay $460,000 in monetary relief. The three-year decree requires the company to provide anti-harassment training, provide annual reports to the EEOC regarding its handling of any complaints of sex harassment, and post a notice about the settlement and employees’ rights under federal law.
The company’s alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. East Jordan Plastics, Case No. 2:25-cv-12302) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: East Jordan Plastics accepts settlement in EEOC harassment lawsuit
Reporting by Paul Welitzkin, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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