Judge Grants Class Action Status for Suit against Soapmaker

August 16, 2001(PLANSPONSOR.com) - A federal judge has granted class-action status to a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against soap maker Dial Corp by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The suit charges that male employees at a Dial plant exposed themselves to female co-workers, made suggestive remarks, and touched their breasts and buttocks.

In a ruling certifying the class-action lawsuit, US District Judge Warren Urbom stated that if the EEOC version of the facts were true, it would mean that the work environment at Dial was sexually charged in a way that was offensive and demeaning to women.

Further, the judge ruled that the government had produced enough evidence to take the dirty business to trial.

The decision enables the EEOC to use one trial to seek damages, which the commission estimates will top $25 million, for 90 female employees

«