Major nationwide retail grocery store chain Kroger Limited Partnership I, Delta Division will pay $42,500 as part of the settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

EEOC's suit charged that Kroger violated federal anti-discrimination law when it subjected a teenaged employee to sexual harassment and failed to take effective action to prevent such abuse of the employee by a male co-worker. EEOC said the harassment began shortly after the teen's hire and continued throughout her employment, with Kroger taking no corrective action against the harasser until her final complaint.

EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. The Kroger Company and Kroger Limited Partnership I, d/b/a Kroger, Civil Action No. 4:14-cv-00564-JLH) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division, after first attempting to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

In addition to requiring the company to pay monetary damages to the former employee, the consent decree resolving the case mandates that Kroger redistribute its sexual harassment policy to all employees at its North Little Rock location, as well as train its managers at that location on sexual harassment, to include the responsibilities of supervisors once a report of sexual harassment is made.