EEOC Sues United Pride Dairy for National Origin Discrimination and Sexual Harassment

MILWAUKEE – United Pride Dairy LLC, a dairy farm in Phillips, Wisconsin, violated federal law when it subjected three employees of Mexican origin to disparate treatment in the terms and conditions of employment, and also subjected a female employee to sexual harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s suit, United Pride promised three Mexican nationals professional and/or management positions when they were hired and submitted the same information to the U.S. Embassy for their TN Visa applications. But when the three Mexican nationals arrived on the farm, the dairy denied the promised positions and instead gave them laborer positions and assigned more arduous tasks and shifts to Mexican workers. When a Mexican worker complained, a manager at United Pride Dairy justified the disparate work assignment based on a negative stereotype of American workers, saying “Americans are lazy,” according to the suit.

The EEOC’s complaint also charged that a female Mexican employee’s direct supervisor subjected her to sexual harassment when he frequently shared demeaning pornographic images with her and repeatedly made sexually offensive comments to her.

“Workplace actions based on unlawful stereotypes about any group of workers — including assumptions that foreign workers are somehow ‘better’ than Americans — are a serious violation of federal law,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “The law is clear: employers cannot abuse the visa process to import foreign labor under false pretenses. The EEOC is committed to vigorous enforcement of our laws so all workers in this country are treated fairly and lawfully.”

The dairy’s alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits national origin and sex discrimination, including different terms and conditions of employment on the basis of national origin and sex-based harassment. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (EEOC v. United Pride Dairy LLC, 3:25-cv-1030). The EEOC seeks monetary relief for the employees as well as injunctive relief to prevent discriminatory practices in the future.

"The illegal workplace misconduct in this case was a clear violation of federal law and harmed both American and foreign workers," Lucas said. "Federal law provides even-handed protection for all workers, and the EEOC will vigorously enforce national origin protections. Sexual harassment is equally a violation of Title VII. The EEOC remains vigilant in eliminating these discriminatory practices from our nation’s workplaces, including on our farms."

The EEOC issued recent technical assistance on discrimination against American workers, including common business reasons for preferring foreign workers which may result in illegal national origin discrimination, violating Title VII.

For more information on national origin discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/national-origin-discrimination. For more information on sexual harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment.

The EEOC's Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of employment discrimination, administrative enforcement and the conduct of agency litigation in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with area offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.