Oregon Public Broadcasting

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing two Oregon farms for their alleged failure to help female workers facing sexual harassment.

The case paints a frightening picture for two women working at Schiemer Farms in Nyssa. Bill Tamay is the EEOC’s regional attorney in San Francisco.

Bill Tamayo: “They went to the workplace, didn’t ask to be harassed, but the co-workers were saying all these disgusting things to them, threatening to drag them to a truck and have sex with them against their will. Management didn’t do anything to stop it and then fired the women, soon after they complained.”

The EEOC is also suing on behalf of a woman who worked at Wilcox Farms in Aurora.

The case alleges that she was repeatedly grabbed and harassed by her supervisor, and forced to quit, when things got worse after she complained.

Operators of both farms deny the allegations.

The cases don’t specify damages, but Bill Tamayo says the EEOC has collected millions of dollars from similar suits in California.