A popular California winery is settling a lawsuit over allegations of sexual harassment by female employees

A California winery owner will pay $1.49 million to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit that allegedly allowed male managers to grope female employees and expose themselves, among other lewd practices.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Wonderful Co. and its Paso Robles winery, Justin Vineyards, in 2022 for allegedly allowing female employees and customers to endure sexual harassment.

US District Court Judge Monica Ramirez Almadani for the Central District of California approved the settlement to the plaintiffs on Thursday.

The female workers said that their male supervisors committed bad acts such as “unwanted touching of the hips, waist and breasts, rubbing the private parts of female subordinates, unwanted hugs and kisses, forced kissing on the mouth, holding hands, cutting bra straps, patting the ear, exposing workers’ private parts, urinating on workers’ private parts. Pictures, and stroking the workers’ hair.”

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Managers are also said to have said things like, “I want to spank that ass,” “that ass looks good in those jeans” or “your bums look good in that top.”

Late-night texts were received on the phones of female employees asking what they should wear, the complaint said. Other examples include managers asking employees to have threesomes or express a desire to get a divorce in order to fall in love with a co-worker.

One of the workers, Taylor Markey, said she was sexually assaulted by James Norton, the manager of Justin Vineyards.

Markey said Norton slapped her and grabbed her buttocks “forcefully” and put his hands on her waist. He also revealed that he retaliated by yelling at him, making fun of his English, and took him by the arm to take him to the staff when he couldn’t hear him.

Markey said nine of his co-workers also filed written reports of sexual harassment or abusive behavior.

The EEOC said the companies “allowed a class of female workers to be sexually harassed by male supervisors, co-workers and customers,” and did not properly handle the allegations.

Beatriz Andre, acting district attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office, praised the companies Friday for “reaching a resolution to this matter that will benefit all employees.”

Justin Vineyards told The Post that they took the matter seriously and that the complaint “started many years ago.”

“There is nothing we take more seriously than maintaining a respectful and positive work culture for all of our associates, and we are proud that our policies and standards encourage that,” the company said in a statement.

“This issue dates back many years and was dealt with quickly and decisively when we found out that there were allegations of behavior that was not in line with what is appropriate in the workplace.”

“With this agreement reached, we look forward to putting this chapter behind us and continuing to focus on the incredibly talented team we have today.”

The Wonderful Co., headquartered in Los Angeles, also owns Fiji Water, Wonderful Pistachios and Wonderful Halos Mandarins.

The company is based in Los Angeles.