COLLINSVILLE – A cannabis dispensary in Collinsville is at the center of a federal lawsuit alleging male staff members, including the facility manager, participated in continuous sexual harassment of female employees.
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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced its lawsuit against Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. on Monday, March 30, 2026. The EEOC claims in a press release that the company “violated federal law when it subjected female employees at the company’s Collinsville, Illinois facility to unlawful sexual harassment.”
“At least as early as February 2021, the Collinsville facility manager and other male employees continually harassed female employees, including touching, sexual comments, sexual advances, requests for sexual relations, and comments about the appearances and bodies of female employees and customers,” the EEOC release states.
The lawsuit also alleges the company failed to stop the harassment even after numerous female employees complained to Ascend’s human resources personnel. At least one woman was “forced to resign because the environment was intolerable,” the EEOC said.
“The alleged harassment in this case was particularly egregious because the facility manager himself engaged in the conduct and comments at issue, making it even more difficult for employees to complain and obtain relief,” David S. Davis, director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office, said.
Conduct as alleged in the EEOC’s complaint violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits harassment because of an employee’s sex. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois after the EEOC initially attempted to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office, added: “When workers complain to managers or human resources personnel about sexual harassment, employers must act promptly with effective actions to stop the harassing conduct.”
The EEOC’s St. Louis District Office has jurisdiction over discrimination charges and agency litigation in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and a portion of southern Illinois.
