Evans Fruit, one of the largest apple producers in the U.S., will pay $272,000 to 20 claimants as part of a settlement resolving sexual harassment and retaliation claims pending before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, announced the settlement in late January. As part of the settlement, Evans Fruit has agree to take steps to ensure the workers who were part of the lawsuits and settlement do to suffer any retaliation.

In June 2010, EEOC filed a lawsuit alleging that numerous female farm workers at an Evans Fruit ranch had been facing sexual harassment over a period of years. At the time, the agency won a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Evans Fruit and ranch manager Juan Marin for allegedly threatening and intimidating individuals who had assisted in EEOC’s investigation.

In September 2011, EEOC filed a second lawsuit against Evans Fruit, charging that such alleged intimidation constituted illegal retaliation. Northwest Justice Project represented retaliation claimants who joined as intervenors in EEOC’s lawsuit, as well as three women in the harassment lawsuit. In both cases, judges for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, ruled against the plaintiffs.

EEOC filed appeals in both cases and the Northwest Justice Project also appealed on behalf of all intervenors. While the appeals were pending in the Ninth Circuit, the EEOC, Northwest Justice Project and Evans Fruit reached a settlement resolving all claims in both cases.

“Before this, I thought I didn’t have any real alternatives,” said Aurelia Garcia, one of the claimants. “I thought the harassment and fear were just part of the job, what I had to put up with to support my children. Now I know that there are laws that protect me and other women. I hope this will give other workers hope and help them speak out.”

Carmen Flores, EEOC lead trial counsel, said the EEOC and Northwest Justice Project fought hard to protect the rights of the immigrant farmworkers and refused to stop when faced with losses in the initial trials.

“The temporary restraining order and the preliminary injunction were major victories for workers who had been scared to participate in our lawsuit. All claimants in the combined cases showed courage and perseverance, and this settlement closes a long chapter in their lives,” Flores said.

EEOC attorney May Che, who led the retaliation case, said that following the litigation, Evans Fruit improved its policies and practices and the impact of the cases extends beyond the single agriculture employer. Che said that a PBS-televised documentary, ‘Rape in the Fields,’ which highlighted the Evans Fruit case, is being used as a training tool across the country and inspired the passage of farmworker sexual harassment legislation in California.

“For the first time ever, the Washington Farm Labor Association, representing farm owners, invited the EEOC to speak about sexual harassment prevention,” she said. “We hear anecdotally from workers that conditions have improved at farms across Eastern Washington.”

The cases have helped the EEOC establish itself as a resource and as a watchdog in the agriculture community, she added.