A former John Deere Foundation vice president has filed a federal lawsuit claiming gender-based pay discrimination and retaliation by Deere & Company and a senior executive.
Laura Eberlin, who worked at John Deere for roughly 24 years and held the position of Foundation vice president, alleges that after the foundation president resigned in March 2024, she assumed many of the top responsibilities without receiving a comparable pay increase. According to the complaint, her requests for pay adjustments were met with changes to her reporting structure, a reduced role, and a hostile work environment. Eberlin resigned in November 2024, and later attempted to withdraw her resignation, but Deere declined.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, names Deere & Company and Mara Downing, vice president for Global Brand Management and Corporate Communications, as defendants. Eberlin also claims retaliation related to her subsequent employment, alleging Deere contacted her new employer, the University of Iowa, to limit her involvement in Deere-related work.
Deere and Downing have denied the allegations in filings and public statements. The case remains in the early stages, with discovery deadlines running into 2026 and a jury trial scheduled for January 2027.