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Home Depot settles sexual harassment case in Minnesota, will pay former employee $65K

By Stephen Swanson

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    ST. PAUL, Minnesota (WCCO) — Home Depot and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights have reached a $65,000 settlement for a Twin Cities store employee who suffered years of sexual harassment on the job.

The department announced the settlement on Thursday following its investigation which found the victim, now a former employee, was subjected to harassment from three other employees at Home Depot’s Fridley location between 2018 and 2021.

The victim reported the harassment on multiple occasions, but management took “little to no action,” according to the department, violating Minnesota’s Human Rights Act.

“My experience was deeply painful, and my goal in coming forward was not just to stand up for myself but also to raise awareness so that nobody else would ever have to go through what I went through,” the victim said in a statement released by the department.

Besides the financial settlement, Home Depot also entered into a compliance agreement that will be monitored for the next two years, requiring the corporation to “create a workplace free from sexual harassment by enforcing anti-harassment politics, conducting training on those policies, and holding store managers accountable,” according to the department.

“I hope my journey and the policy changes outlined in the settlement agreement helps pave the way for a safer, more respectful environment for all employees,” the victim said.

Home Depot shared a statement after a request from WCCO.

“We don’t tolerate harassment in any form and are committed to respect for all people. We settled this matter so we can focus on our business,” the statement said.

In 2023, the department entered into a consent decree with the owner of several metro McDonald’s restaurants after a 14-year-old employee was sexually assaulted by her manager.

That same year, the department reached a sexual harassment settlement with a Vadnais Heights-based charter school district after a teacher assaulted a ninth-grade student.

Victims of harassment in the workplace or schools are urged to report violations to the department on its website.

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