Lawsuit says supervisors and managers ‘repeatedly demanded sexual favors from female workers for promotions and benefits’.
Image Credit: Toyota Boshoku Tennessee / Facebook
***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.
By Cassandra Stephenson [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Toyota Boshoku Jackson Tennessee Monday alleging that managers and supervisors at the automotive manufacturing plant repeatedly groped, insulted and demanded sexual favors from female employees.
At least six women reported harassment between January 2021 and July 2024, according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
The lawsuit includes a long list of incidents, including offers to approve requests for time off in exchange for sex, inappropriate touching, male employees engaging in sex with subordinate employees in and around the plant, multiple instances of sexual comments toward female employees, and offers to purchase a vehicle or pay for hair and nail services in exchange for sex.
In one instance, a team lead showed a female employee a pornographic video of an employee performing oral sex on him, according to the lawsuit.
Toyota Boshoku Jackson Tennessee is among the area’s largest businesses, employing about 500 employees at its Jackson facility. The company is a subsidiary of Toyota Boshoku America, which is headquartered in Kentucky and employs more than 11,000 people at 21 locations throughout North and South America.
In a statement, representatives for Toyota Boshoku America and Toyota Boshoku Jackson Tennessee said, “The EEOC has filed a lawsuit alleging that certain individuals at Toyota Boshoku Jackson, Tennessee, LLC (“TBJT”) were subjected to sexual harassment. TBJT strongly denies the allegations and will vigorously defend itself through the legal process.”
“TBJT’s initial investigation has confirmed that the individuals identified in the Complaint were not employed by TBJT,” the statement read.
“We believe the claims lack merit, and we are confident TBJT will prevail when the facts are tested through the legal process,” said Brian Freeman, TBJT’s General Manager of Administration. “TBJT is committed to maintaining a respectful and equitable workplace for all team members. We have strong policies and reporting procedures in place, and we investigate and respond appropriately in line with our policies and values.”
The company did not respond to a followup question about the claim defendants did not work for TBJT.
One female employee reported being cornered in a conference room by an assistant manager, who instructed her to “have sex with him … to receive a promotion to a Team Leader position,” the lawsuit states. The employee declined, but was kept in the conference room for over an hour until she said she would “consider his offer.” Several months later, the assistant manager continued to demand sex from the employee, sending text messages stating “No one was (sic) going to believe you, I can pull strings,” and “No, you want to take the long road and have morals,” according to the lawsuit.
The female employee said employees “would not report the assistant manager because (the company) would not take any action.” She ultimately resigned.
The lawsuit accuses the company’s Human Resources officials of ignoring female employees’ oral and written complaints of sexual harassment and failing to investigate their complaints in most cases. At least two women were fired after reporting such harassment.
“A former female team leader noted that the city of Jackson is a difficult place to get a job and women working at the facility endured the harassment for that reason,” the lawsuit states. When that female former team leader filed a complaint about a supervisor making sexual comments in 2024, the company’s Human Resources office and the assistant manager took no action, according to the lawsuit. She was fired a short time later.
“They subjected a class of aggrieved current and former female employees to ongoing unwelcome sexual harassment, resulting in a hostile work environment” that violated the employees’ Title VII right to employment free from discrimination, the lawsuit states.
The EEOC — the federal agency that investigates and litigates against businesses for employment discrimination violations — first issued a letter to the company finding reasonable cause for Title VII violations in June 2025 after two women filed discrimination charges with the commission. The company had the opportunity to remedy discriminatory practices identified by the commission, but the EEOC and Toyota Boshoku Jackson Tennessee did not come to an agreement, according to a statement released by the EEOC Monday. The commission gave formal notice of the failure to resolve the dispute in August.
The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction barring the company from subjecting employees to a hostile work environment because of sex, and from engaging in unlawful retaliation or firing because of sex. The EEOC asked the court to order Toyota Boshoku Jackson Tennessee and Toyota Boshoku America to institute policies to provide equal employment opportunities for women.
The lawsuit also seeks backpay, punitive damages and compensation for past and future losses for aggrieved current and former female employees, with amounts to be determined through a jury trial.
Toyota Boshoku bought the auto part manufacturing plant — originally called ARJ Manufacturing — in 2010, changing the plant’s name to Toyota Boshoku Tennessee in 2016.
Toyota Boshoku America opened its newest manufacturing plant in Hopkinsville, Kentucky in December. The company also rebranded its Jackson operation as Toyota Boshoku Jackson Tennessee in December after acquiring full ownership of its former joint venture with fellow auto parts manufacturer DENSO International America, TBDN Tennessee Company. The plant continues to produce DENSO-branded products.
Toyota Boshoku Jackson Tennessee announced a $54.4 million expansion of its Madison County plant in 2023, and received a $400,000 state economic development incentive to add 80 new jobs.
View the full text of the lawsuit here.
