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Mount Vernon Mills, Inc., a Greenville, S.C., textile company with a cotton mill in Cuero,  Texas, will pay $70,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sexual  harass­ment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  (EEOC).

The EEOC's suit (Case No. 6:11-cv-00052, filed in U.S.  District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Victoria Division) charged  that Mount Vernon Mills allowed two male mill workers to subject a teenaged  female employee on the overnight shift to sexual harassment. The misconduct included unwelcome sexual  touching as well as a pattern of crude statements and company-wide sexual  rumors about the girl. The EEOC said the  company failed to take appropriate action to address and stop the harassment,  even when the teenager repeatedly complained and management was aware of the  unlawful conduct.

The two-year consent decree settling the suit, signed by  U.S. District Judge Gregg Costas, provides for anti-discrimination training for  managers and supervisors at the Cuero facility, as well as payment of $70,000  to the victim.

"Employees absolutely have the right under federal law  to work in an environment free of sexual harassment," said Judith G. Taylor,  supervisory trial attorney of the EEOC's San Antonio Field Office. "No employer should allow such degrading and  shameful conditions for any worker, especially a teenager. Supervisors and managers must ensure that young female workers are safe and that immediate action is taken to  identify and rectify sexual misconduct in the workplace."