A Kentucky trucking and limousine company signed a deal with the federal government to make a sexual harassment charge go away for $95,000. Then it paid nothing. Now it owes $85,000 on top of the $10,000 it scrambled to pay once the lawsuit landed, plus statutory interest.
Jaco Enterprises, L.L.C., a transportation company offering services throughout Kentucky, agreed to the entry of a court judgment for $85,000 to resolve a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The agency announced the judgment on October 7, 2026.
How it unraveled
A female employee filed a charge of discrimination alleging she was sexually harassed by a male employee and that other employees were similarly harassed by the same person. On October 6, 2025, Jaco’s president signed a conciliation agreement requiring the company to pay the original complainant $70,000 and $25,000 to other aggrieved women.
A conciliation agreement is the EEOC’s version of a pre-lawsuit settlement. The agency investigates, finds reasonable cause, and offers the employer a chance to resolve the matter without going to court. It is a binding contract.
Jaco’s president signed the agreement, but the company then breached it by failing to pay any of the monetary relief. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Jaco Enterprises, LLC, Case No. 26-cv-182) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
After being served with the EEOC’s lawsuit, Jaco made an initial $10,000 payment to the charging party. That was too little, too late. Under the consent judgment entered by the court, Jaco must pay the remaining $85,000 plus applicable statutory interest.
What small businesses should take from this
Kenneth Bird, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Indianapolis District Office, put it plainly. “Employers need to pay when they have agreed to settle the serious matter of a sexual harassment charge. Companies that fail to honor conciliation agreements should expect the EEOC to file suit to enforce the terms of such agreements.”
For any small employer that has signed or is considering signing a conciliation agreement with the EEOC, the lesson is straightforward. Calendar every payment deadline, confirm every wire, and if cash flow is a problem, talk to a lawyer and communicate with the agency before you miss a payment. Ghosting the EEOC does not make the obligation disappear. It makes it bigger and public.
The original enforcement lawsuit was filed in June 2026. Roughly four months later, the court entered the consent judgment. That timeline shows how fast these cases can move once the EEOC decides to enforce.
