Civil rights case filed against Quincy company

QUINCY — Alleging sexual harassment of workers and retaliation against women who reported mistreatment, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a civil rights case against a Quincy-based company.

In the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, Ferguson alleges the operations and policies instituted by the Quincy-based Horning Brothers LLC, which operates an onion packing shed in the 14000 block of West Baseline Road, allowed a company foreman to sexually harass and discriminate against female employees for a number of years. The complaint alleged from “at least” 2012 until now Horning Brothers and the foreman had a policy in place to hire only women to sort onions on the onion packing line.

The state alleges the foreman engaged in the following conduct:

• Requested dates and sex.
• Requested intimate photographs.
• Made unwelcome comments about female employees' bodies/appearance.
• Made “overt” sexual gestures toward female employees.
• Made unsolicited requests to touch female employees.
• Groped female employees without their permission.
• Required or attempted to require employees to have sex with him in order to continue working at Horning Brothers.

“Horning Brothers knew or should have known that (the foreman) was engaging in the conduct alleged herein. Nonetheless, Horning Brothers failed to take reasonably prompt and adequate corrective action. The conduct alleged herein was objectively and subjectively intolerable and resulted in the constructive discharge of several employees,” reads the complaint.

Horning Brothers and the foreman allegedly reprimanded, disciplined, discharged, expelled, failed to rehire, took adverse employment action, or discriminated against employees who rejected the foreman's advances, or who complained to others.

“Low-wage agricultural workers are part of a vulnerable population with limited resources. They deserve to be heard,” Ferguson said. “No woman should be forced to accept sexual harassment as a condition of her employment.”

The state requested the court: declare that Horning Brothers and the foreman engaged in discriminatory practices, admonish Horning Brothers and the foreman from discriminating on the basis of sex and retaliating against employees who complain of discriminatory or unfair employment practices, award damages and/or monetary relief to individuals who were discriminated against, award the state the costs of the suit, including “reasonable” attorney's fees, and award “additional relief as the interests of justice may require.”

A call to Horning Brothers for comment on the complaint was not returned.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.