GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- A Grand Forks woman has sued American Crystal Sugar Co. over alleged sexual discrimination and harassment.
Janine Bailey filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota. In a 2007 declaration filed with the court she alleges she was denied positions at American Crystal Sugar's plant in East Grand Forks because she's a woman, her colleagues pulled pranks on her and she feared retaliation for supporting another female colleague.
Bailey filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against American Crystal Sugar over her demotion in 2006, and filed a grievance with the employee union over alleged pay disparities in 2011.
"A few weeks after ACS denied her grievance about this pay disparity, Bailey's supervisors retaliated against her by manufacturing grounds to terminate her employment," the lawsuit states. Bailey began working for the company in 2000.
Other documents signed by Bailey's supervisors in 2006 state she didn't consistently follow instructions, took longer than others to perform tasks and often jumped to conclusions and made accusations. American Crystal Sugar Vice President Lisa Borgen told Fargo radio station KFGO that the company "vigorously" denies Bailey's allegations.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bailey is seeking unspecified damages.
