Workers win: Charges dropped against former warehouse employees; suit settled
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Four Elwood warehouse workers who were fired and charged with theft after one of them reported being sexually harassed at work have had the criminal charges against them dropped.
Also, the workers settled a federal class action lawsuit they filed against Partners Warehouse after they were fired and arrested. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
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Marshall was 18 in August 2010 when she told Elwood police she was being sexually harassed by a boss at Partners Warehouse at 26634 Center Point Drive.
She said a supervisor slapped her buttocks, pinched her breasts and he was harassing other female employees. He also coerced her into having sex using threats of termination, Marshall told police.
After the report, Partners Warehouse filed its own complaint with Elwood police charging the employees with felony theft. Marshall; her mother, Sandra Hernandez; her uncle, Henry Saldivar; and Aaron Morales-Bahena were all fired and subsequently arrested. Marshall also was charged with filing a false police report, and Hernandez faced forgery charges.
All of the charges were dropped by the state’s attorney’s office on March 1 after a lengthy internal review of the case, spokesman Charles Pelkie said.
The review came after the employees sought help from Warehouse Workers for Justice, a Joliet-based group pushing for improved working conditions in area warehouses.
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http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/news/18673583-418/workers-win-charges-dropped-against-former-warehouse-employees-suit-settled.html