An agreement between the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Dial Corporation to prevent further sexual-harassment is working, the EEOC said last week.
According to the EEOC, the three people appointed by a court to monitor Dial
say, "All evidence available to us shows that sexual harassment and related
retaliation are not significant problems in the plant at the present time."
On April 29, 2003, a consent decree resolved the EEOC's sexual-harassment
case against the soap-maker. In addition to the damages it paid, Dial also had
to toughen up its no-harassment policy; revise its complaint procedure to
encourage employees to come forward; and make supervisors more accountable if
harassment occurs among employees under their supervision.
EEOC Attorney John C. Hendrickson says that the atmosphere at the Dial
Corporation has improved since allegations of harassment were reported at its
Illinois plant. "...The management of any company must be dedicated to making the
necessary changes and to continuously signaling in ways large and small that
employees engage in sexual harassment at their peril," Hendrickson says. "What
the Dial monitors' report tells us is that the necessary changes are being made
at Dial and that the employees are understanding the signals. That is good news
for everybody."
The court monitors found that a "substantial majority of both men and women"
say that there has been a change in the environment for women in the plant in
recent years. A candid report on Dial’s progress is available on the EEOC’s Web
site.