Dover Farmworker Raped Then Fired: Feds

DOVER, FL — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit that alleges Dover’s Favorite Farms broke federal law by “subjecting a female farmworker to sexual harassment, including rape, and then suspending and firing her for complaining about it,” according to a media release from the agency. The suit was filed May 31 in the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

The federal agency contends, “a male supervisor in charge of Favorite Farms’ agricultural operations and field labor engaged in egregious sexual harassment toward the woman, including unwelcome sexual comments, forcible physical contact and rape,” the media release said. “Although the rape was immediately reported, Favorite Farms undertook no investigation and took no action against the supervisor, forcing the employee to protect herself by obtaining a restraining order.”

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The suit further alleges that “Favorite Farms retaliated against the victim, including suspending her and ultimately firing her.”

The alleged acts are a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the EEOC. The suit was filed after an attempt to reach a settlement, the EEOC reported Wednesday. The agency is seeking monetary and injunctive relief.

“No employee should be subjected to sexually degrading conduct as a condition of employment,” Robert E. Weisberg, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Miami District Office, said in a Wednesday statement announcing the filing of the lawsuit. “Migrant farmworkers are no exception. They are an important but vulnerable segment of our labor force whose civil rights this lawsuit seeks to protect.”

The amount of damages being sought is not clear. A copy of the lawsuit is not yet available. The EEOC’s supervisory trial attorney over the case was also not readily available for comment Wednesday morning. It is unclear when the alleged rape and firing occurred.

Favorite Farms is located on McIntosh Road in Dover. The strawberry farm was founded in 1978 by Marvin and Linda Brown, according to its website.

Patch reached out to Favorite Farms, but officials there had no comment on the lawsuit.

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