Star Tribune sued for sexual harrassment

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the Star Tribune today on behalf of female employees of the newspaper's mailroom, according to a Star Tribune email and report.

The complaint alleges that women were subjected to "sexual harassment (including, but not limited to, propositions for sex, sexually suggestive conduct, favoritism towards female co-workers who participated in sexually provocative conduct, and sexual comments), which further created a sexually hostile work environment," beginning in August 2005 and continuing today. The harassment occurred at the paper's Heritage facility.

Star Tribune officials are denying the allegations. Helen Wainwright, senior vice president for Human Resources and Labor Relations, wrote in a memo to employees today:

"At the same time, we also took steps to reinforce the Star Tribune's strong commitment to a respectful work environment, including implementing training programs for Heritage employees and their supervisors."

Read more at the Star Tribune. We will update if more information becomes available.