Ford Will Pay $9 Million to Settle Women’s Sexual Harassment Suits

CHICAGO —  Chicago-area women who sued Ford Motor Co. for sexual harassment will get $9 million to end the lawsuits, $1.5 million more than the company’s original settlement in 1998.

U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo had called the first settlement with the auto maker “disappointing” and certified the case as a class-action suit, which allowed further legal action. She approved the increased settlement--Ford’s response to the judge’s class-action ruling--on Friday.

So far, about 150 of the 1,000 women eligible to claim part of the settlement--the second largest of its kind in Illinois history--have come forward. The rest have until mid-January to do so.

The women say they were harassed with catcalls and swearing while working on assembly lines. They also say the harassment included sexually explicit graffiti in public areas of the plants and inappropriate physical contact. Lawyers began filing the lawsuits more than five years ago.