Four staffing agencies under common ownership agreed to pay $475,000 to settle a lawsuit charging them with mistreating Latino workers at an Alabama poultry processing plant, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Wednesday. The EEOC lawsuit accused East Coast Labor Solutions, East Coast Labor Solutions of West Virginia, Labor Solutions, and Labor Solutions of Alabama — combined referred to as “East Coast Labor” — with national origin discrimination and failure to accommodate disabilities, violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The case stems from alleged activities in 2011 or 2012, and the settlement was a “business decision,” East Coast Labor Solutions CEO Ray Wiley told Staffing Industry Analysts. The company had already spent about $500,000 fighting the case. “We did an extensive internal investigation ourselves and found no wrongdoing,” Wiley said. “At no time did we admit guilt.”

The lawsuit claimed that East Coast Labor recruited Latino workers to work in a poultry processing plant in Guntersville, Ala., and subjected them to harassment and other abusive working conditions. It alleged the Latino workers were paid less money than promised, were placed in more hazardous positions, were denied bathroom and lunch breaks, and received fewer hours of work than their non-Latino counterparts. The lawsuit also claimed East Coast Labor Solutions deducted relocation, housing and transportation fees from the workers’ pay, and did not address complaints made by the Latino workers about ongoing harassment.

The suit also alleges Latino workers were denied medical treatment and other accommodations when they suffered repetitive motion injuries.

Wiley noted that while one complainant worked for about two months, most just worked for a few days or less.

The three-year consent decree requires the staffing agencies to provide training to their employees on their obligations under the law, and review their anti-discrimination policies and modify them as necessary. It also prohibits the companies from engaging in any discrimination or retaliation because of national origin or disability, and requires the companies to post notices on their bulletin boards informing employees of their right to contact the EEOC if they feel they have been discriminated or retaliated against.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.