EEOC CHAIRMAN COMMENTS ON LAWSUIT AGAINST MITSUBISHI

WASHINGTON -- Gilbert F. Casellas, Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), issued the following statement today regarding the EEOC's pending lawsuit against Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, Inc.:

The EEOC stands by the lawsuit it filed against Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, Inc. on April 9, 1996. This lawsuit alleges a pattern of egregious and pervasive sexual harassment and retaliation at Mitsubishi's Normal, Ill., plant. It was based on a thorough investigation which extended well over a year and involved interviews of more than 100 current and former employees. The lawsuit was filed only after efforts to resolve these matters out of court failed.

The media has chronicled an aggressive and coordinated effort by Mitsubishi to discredit both this litigation and the EEOC. I understand that Mitsubishi management has informed employees that their jobs are threatened by the EEOC's lawsuit and has installed phones in the plant for employees to use to make free telephone calls to Congress, the President, and the press about the case. Today, Mitsubishi is sponsoring an all-expenses-paid trip for employees and their families to protest at our office in Chicago. It has been reported that employees will be excused from their normal shifts and Mitsubishi will pay them at their regular wage to participate in the demonstration. Employees who do not join the bus trip will be required to work. As many as three thousand persons may participate.

Mitsubishi and its employees are certainly free to express their opinions in any lawful manner. However, the EEOC will not be intimidated from pursuing this litigation. While we remain open to the possibility of settlement, we are fully prepared to take this case to trial where a jury drawn from the community will decide its outcome.