The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a Wisconsin dairy farm for national origin discrimination and sexual harassment, the EEOC announced earlier this week.
The suit alleges that United Pride Dairy LLC in Price County violated federal law by discriminating against three Mexican employees. It also claims that a female Mexican employee was sexually harassed while working at the farm.
The EEOC said the company promised three Mexican nationals professional or management roles and submitted that same information to the U.S. Embassy for their visa applications. But when the workers arrived on the farm, they were denied their positions. Instead, the suit alleges, the farm gave them laborer positions and “arduous tasks and shifts.”
News with a little more humanity
WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.
After one of the Mexican workers complained, the EEOC said, a manager justified the workload by saying, “Americans are lazy.”
“The illegal workplace misconduct in this case was a clear violation of federal law and harmed both American and foreign workers,” EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said in a press release announcing the lawsuit.
The EEOC complaint also claims a female Mexican employee was sexually harassed by her direct supervisor after he allegedly “frequently shared demeaning pornographic images” with her and made “sexually offensive comments.”
The EEOC said the farm specifically violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits national origin and sex discrimination.
The dairy farm denies that it discriminated against or otherwise mistreated any of its employees. Nicole Marklein is the lawyer representing United Pride Dairy LLC.
“We are disappointed and concerned to learn that the EEOC has filed this lawsuit despite my client’s full cooperation with an investigation that has revealed no evidence of unlawful discrimination or harassment,” Marklein said in a written statement.
Marklein called the lawsuit “baseless.”
United Pride Dairy produces 7 million gallons of milk a year and milks about 2,300 cows. It has a total of about 4,000 cattle on the farm, and 5,000 acres of cropland. The dairy employs 45 full-time workers and has 20 part-time employees according to the United Pride website.
The EEOC is seeking monetary relief for the employees and injunctive relief, or a court order to prevent future discrimination.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2025, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
