New Prime Inc. of Springfield, MO will pay more than $400,000 in a settlement to three women who claim they were sexually harassed and assaulted during driver training, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced.

The settlement, reached in late May but announced June 22, would end a three-year legal battle between the commission and New Prime if it’s approved in federal court. The EEOC filed the suit against New Prime in July 2001 in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, MO. The federal district court in Kansas City must approve the settlement.

A jury in September 2003 found in favor of one woman — Cynthia Huffman of Hattiesburg, MS, who claimed her driver-trainer, a male contractor, made sexual advances during a trip and forced her to stay for two days at his home, where he allegedly tried to lure her into bed.

The other two women in the case — identified in media reports as Willa Burke of Humboldt, IA, and Virginia King of Columbus, OH — whom the jury ruled against in September, also would receive money in the settlement.

EEOC said New Prime also will pay $62,500 to resolve workers' compensation claims by Huffman and Burke. King reportedly did not file a timely claim for workers' compensation. The settlement also requires New Prime to provide all current and new employees with training on what constitutes sexual harassment, the commission said.