Con Edison settles sexual harassment lawsuit for $3.8 million

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Con Edison has agreed to set aside $3.8 million for up to 300 female employees who filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company.

The settlement was reached quietly last month with New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Jean Washington, a former Marine, was one of the plaintiffs in the case.

"Let's just say that the men in the Marine Corps. learn to have respect," she said. "Con Edison, it was hard for a woman to get respect from the men."

There are things Jean Washington says she saw in her 22 years working in the field for Con Ed that she never experienced in the Marines.

"We have something called duct seal that was used to plug up ducts in the manholes to keep the rats out," she said. "Some guys decided to make an anatomical part of a woman's body and put it on the hood of the truck. "They thought it was funny."

Pranks like that have cost the company $3.8 million in a sexual harassment and gender discrimination settlement with the Attorney General's Office.

"There were individual complaints, and some went to the EOC and then some started coming to our office," AG Eric Schneiderman said. "And it took awhile to figure out that this was not a matter of one or two abusive co-workers, this was really a systemic problem."

A statement from Con Edison reads, in part, "The agreement resolves these investigations without any findings of wrongdoing on the part of Con Edison."

But after a five-year investigation, Scneiderman found women in field positions were given sub-par on-the-job training, were refused admission to classes needed for promotions, were not provided tools or safety gear while their male counterparts received both, were denied private restroom, shower and changing facilities, were disciplined more harshly than men and were denied overtime.

"The people who were suffering under this...had extraordinary courage in coming forward to complain to us and to complain to the EOC," Schneiderman said.

And Washington is one of the courageous women who first filed a complaint.

"It shouldn't be a problem for women wanting to do a man's job," she said. "As long as we can do it, allow us to do it without the harassment."

Here is the full text of the Con Edison statement:

"Con Edison has voluntarily entered into a settlement agreement with the Attorney General's Office and the EEOC to resolve longstanding investigations that began in 2007 regarding complaints by several female employees alleging gender discrimination. The agreement resolves these investigations without any findings of wrongdoing on the part of Con Edison.

"We do not tolerate discrimination in any form in the workplace. With this agreement, Con Edison is reaffirming its commitment to maintaining a workforce that promotes diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity. We will further enhance training of our employees and management to help ensure that those principles are upheld. We are proud of the women and men who work together every day to serve New Yorkers, and who maintain and provide the most reliable energy service in the world."

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)