Lisa Madigan's Office: This Business Engages In Sexual Harassment

BOLINGBROOK, IL -Lawyers operating under the direction of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit this week at the Will County Courthouse against IFCO Systems US, a Bolingbrook company that is accused of engaging in long-standing discriminatory employment practices and making its female employees subjects of disparate treatment or unwelcome sexual advances from IFCO's supervisors and managers, according to court documents.

"After investigation, the State has concluded that IFCO engaged in a pattern and practice of discriminatory employment practices on the basis of sex," states Karyn Bass Ehler, assistant attorney general, who works out of Chicago for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

Since 2011, Bolingbrook's facility operated as an IFCO "service center," the lawsuit states, "where reusable plastic containers for transporting food products are washed and disinfected for reuse."

"Female direct and temporary employees who complained about either the disparate treatment or unwelcome sexual advances from IFCO supervisors and managers experienced retaliation," the AG's lawsuit states. "IFCO made unlawfully discriminatory requests to staffing agencies which made sex a determining factor in the placement and job assignments of temporary employees."

IFCO directly operated the Bolingbrook location from 2011 through February 2014 and from February 2015 through March 27, 2016.

Madigan's office contends in the lawsuit that since March 28, 2016, a third-party has operated the Bolingbrook warehouse facility "on behalf of and under the direction of IFCO."

The lawsuit asks Will County's judicial system to:

Enjoin IFCO from engaging in employment practices that discriminate against individuals on the basis of sex in employment and make IFCO adopt workplace policies, practices and training to prevent discrimination in employment, order monitoring of their processing of work-related complaints and assess "civil penalties against IFCO ... in the amount of $10,000 for each violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act."

IFCO is located in Bolingbrook at 400 Crossroads Parkway, Suite A, court documents show.

When reached for comment, employees at IFCO Systems US in Bolingbrook suggested that Patch speak with their corporate operations out of Tampa.

Image of IFCO Systems via Google Maps