TWA Charged by 3 in Sexual Harassment Case

Three female TWA employees responsible for ground safety at John F. Kennedy International Airport sued the airline Wednesday, alleging they were subjected to sexual groping by managers that was so rough that a woman’s breast was burned and another feared the loss of a nipple.

In a separate case, meanwhile, federal officials said the government is settling its lawsuit against Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp. over harassment at its plant in Normal, Ill.

Officials of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said they will join Mitsubishi representatives to discuss the settlement at a joint news conference here today. Neither side would release any details Wednesday.

The class-action lawsuit claimed that sexual harassment at the plant was “repeated, routine, generalized, serious, pervasive and known to and supported by management.” It alleged Mitsubishi allowed women to be groped and subjected to lewd jokes and behavior.

In a graphic suit filed against Trans World Airlines in Brooklyn federal court, the airline workers describe a nightmarish workplace where they were constantly harassed--often physically--while trying to guide airplanes to and from gates. The suit alleges a wide range of offenses including sexual propositions, physical attacks and being forced to see a manager’s erect penis.

The women’s lawsuit seeks $120 million in damages and also names three male managers as defendants. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also filed suit against the airline.

The suits allege that after the women complained about discrimination, TWA took no remedial action and instead retaliated against them.

TWA said the sexual harassment charges are “false and without merit.”