EEOC case a powerful
reminder of:
1) The ongoing epidemic of sexual
violence in Florida’s fields outside the bounds of the Fair Food Program,
and
2) The hypocrisy of retailers and the
failure of the corporate social responsibility approach to stop the
violence.
Last Friday’s announcement of a massive jury verdict in favor of five
farmworker women who filed sexual assault and retaliation complaints against
Moreno Farms (a small, now defunct eggplant, tomato, and squash farm outside of
Immokalee) provides a valuable moment for reflection on the urgent need for
justice in Florida’s fields and the failure of existing systems — from the
courts to corporate social responsibility — to secure that justice.
That’s a lot to chew on, so first, here are the facts, from Friday’s Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) press release:
EEOC Wins Jury Verdict of over $17 Million for
Victims of Sexual Harassment and Retaliation at Moreno Farms
Florida Farm Managers Subjected Women
Workers to Coerced Sex, Groping and Verbal Abuse, Then Fired Them for Objecting,
Federal Agency Charged
MIAMI — A federal jury has returned a unanimous verdict awarding a total
of $17,425,000 to five former female employees of Moreno Farms, Inc., a produce
growing and packing operation in Felda, Fla., who suffered sexual harassment and
retaliation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced
today.
According to EEOC’s suit, two sons of the owner of Moreno Farms and a
third male supervisor engaged in graphic acts of sexual harassment against
female workers in Moreno Farms’ packaging house, including regular groping and
propositioning, threatening female employees with termination if they refused
the supervisors’ sexual advances, and attempting to rape, and raping, multiple
female employees. All five women were ultimately fired for opposing the three
men’s sexual harassment…
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