Quincy company settles harassment suit for $525,000

QUINCY — A Quincy-based company will be required to pay $525,000 to female workers who claimed a supervisor sexually harassed them. The settlement was announced by the Washington Attorney General’s Office Thursday afternoon.

The AG’s office said the agreement reached between Horning Brothers, LLC, and the state may have been the largest civil rights settlement in Washington history.

The settlement must be approved by a federal judge. If it is approved, the workers who were harassed will receive a maximum settlement of $98,000. The amount will depend on the nature and extent of the alleged harassment and the length of time they worked for the company.

The lawsuit charged that a foreman working for Horning Brothers, Hermilio Cruz, was involved in multiple incidents of alleged sexual harassment, and that the company engaged in “discriminatory hiring and sex-segregated practices, and retaliation against workers who reported the improper conduct,” according to a press release issued by the attorney general’s office.

The Northwest Justice Project “worked on the case with the attorney general’s office, referred the case and represented five of the workers as plaintiffs.”

The settlement requires the company to prohibit Cruz from holding any supervisory position. Horning Brothers will be required to implement procedures for reporting alleged harassment, discrimination or retaliation, as well as implement investigation procedures. Management will be required to take training in responding to harassment complaints, and must make semi-annual reports to the AG’s office. All information must be made available in English and Spanish.

The case was being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Company officials claimed Horning Brothers had policies addressing alleged sexual harassment and reporting it, but District Judge Thomas Rice found that the company’s procedures were inadequate.

The AG’s office began investigating complaints about the company and Cruz in 2016. The lawsuit charged that some women working for the company “were subject to unwelcome and sometimes severe and pervasive sexual advances from Cruz,” the press release said. The lawsuit charged that "several women who tried to complain about Cruz were reprimanded, discharged or not rehired the following season.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.