The makers of Wonder Bread will pay $222,000 and conduct training sessions on sexual harassment and gender discrimination to settle allegations that the company created a hostile work environment for women at its bakery in Philadelphia.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that Interstate Brands Corp., a subsidiary of Kansas City, Mo.-based Interstate Bakeries Corp., had agreed to make payments to five women to resolve a lawsuit filed last year on behalf of women who said they were denied access to higher-paying jobs.
It also settles claims by two female bakery employees from Philadelphia and Maple Shade, N.J., that supervisors subjected them to demeaning language and gestures.
The agreement doesn't require the company to acknowledge any wrongdoing.
An Interstate Bakeries spokesman did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday.
As part the agreement, the company will provide training on sexual harassment and gender discrimination for all management employees at its Philadelphia facility, the EEOC said.
