Ostrom Mushroom Farms, a major producer in the Pacific Northwest, will pay a $3.4 million fine for gender discrimination and other unfair and discriminatory practices, resolving a lawsuit filed last year by the Washington Attorney General’s Office.

Officials leading the Sunnyside, Yakima County, company failed to take responsibility for any wrongdoing before selling the business to Windmill Farms of Ontario, Canada, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Wednesday.

They did agree, however, to pay the $3.4 million fine, Ferguson said during a news conference at the Centilia Cultural Center in Seattle. His office will use the money to pay over 170 workers eligible for damages...

The resolution comes as Yakima Valley workers now employed by the Canadian company continue to push for union recognition...

The court order resolving the Attorney General’s Office lawsuit requires Windmill Farms to take several measures to protect employees. It prohibits the company from setting more stringent requirements for domestic employees than for workers hired under the H-2A visa system, which grants workers fewer labor rights, and bars officials from misrepresenting the terms and conditions of employment to current and prospective workers...