The same facility has cost Ford tens of millions in prior settlements — and the new claims echo old ones
Ford Motor Company is facing a new sexual harassment lawsuit at its Chicago Assembly Plant — and the allegations sound painfully familiar.
A production worker at the Torrence Avenue facility claims her supervisor subjected her to years of explicit, unwelcome comments starting in 2021, and that the company's response fell short at every stage. The case, Davis v. Ford Motor Company (No. 1:26-cv-02877, N.D. Ill.), was filed on March 13.
Tashona Davis, an auto assembler at the plant, alleges that her team lead, James Tolbert, made persistent sexually explicit remarks and engaged in unwelcome conduct directed at her over a period of roughly three years. She says she told him repeatedly she was not interested. He allegedly continued anyway.
In early November 2024, Davis took the next step and filed a formal complaint with Ford's Employee Relations for Manufacturing department. The company interviewed her on November 15 and told her the matter would be investigated. Then, according to the filing, silence. Davis heard nothing for four months — until an email arrived in March 2025 informing her the investigation had been closed. During that entire stretch, Tolbert allegedly remained in his role, working alongside her with no apparent consequences.
It is what happened next that HR professionals may find most instructive.
When Davis returned from an unrelated medical leave in June...
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