Janitorial Agency Harassed Employees Because of their National Origin, Federal Agency Charged
LAS VEGAS – ABM Industries has agreed to pay $60,000 and furnish other relief to settle a federal charge of national origin harassment filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
The charge made to the EEOC alleged that a class of Hispanic employees were harassed in 2017 and 2018 by an ABM manager based on their national origin. This harassment allegedly included threats to alert the immigration authorities regarding the Hispanic employees and continuous comments that the only reason they had a job was because of the manager. The charge further alleged that ABM failed to take immediate corrective action regarding the complaints of harassment. The EEOC investigated the allegations and found reasonable cause to believe that ABM Industries violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Without admitting liability, ABM Industries agreed to enter into a one-year conciliation agreement with the EEOC. ABM has agreed to pay $25,000 to each charging party and $10,000 to an identified class member. The company has also agreed to conduct internal training for its management personnel at its affected location and redistribute its discrimination and harassment policies. The EEOC will monitor compliance with this agreement.
“Targeting Hispanic employees and threatening them with deportation because of their national origin is harassing conduct,” said Michael Mendoza, director of the EEOC’s Las Vegas local office. “Employers should ensure their managers and supervisors know that such behavior will not be tolerated. We commend ABM for putting in place training and other measures to create a harassment-free work environment.”
According to the company’s website, www.abm.com, ABM provides a wide variety of services, to include electrical, energy, transportation and parking services, janitorial and facilities engineering services.
Addressing systemic harassment through enforcement and outreach is one of the six national priorities identified by the Commission’s Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP).
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
