Sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Las Vegas construction firm

A national suit accuses a Las Vegas operation institution of allowing supervisors to sexually harass employees and retaliating against those who reported experiencing harassment connected the job.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claims antheral supervisors and co-workers astatine Focus Companies Group of Nevada subjected pistillate employees astatine operation sites to groping, forcible kissing, vulgar connection and threats of rape if they didn’t taxable to the harassment. The women progressive talk lone Spanish, a merchandise said.

“The EEOC remains steadfast successful rooting retired employment discrimination, peculiarly against those who whitethorn not cognize their rights owed to constricted English proficiency and their heightened vulnerability to favoritism and harassment,” committee lawyer Anna Park said successful a written statement.

The suit filed successful U.S. District Court accuses Focus of reassigning 2 women who had complained astir “undesirable oregon detrimental enactment assignments” involving dense lifting with nary help. One of those women, the suit states, suffered a changeable arsenic a effect of the hard labor.

“As a effect of its nonaccomplishment to code the hostile enactment environment, immoderate employees felt they had nary prime but to quit,” an EEOC merchandise said.

The suit seeks fiscal compensation connected behalf of the women and tribunal involution to close and forestall further discrimination.

Focus comprises aggregate operation subsidiaries including Focus Plumbing; Focus Electric; Focus Concrete; Focus Fire Protection; Focus Framing, Door and Trim. They stock absorption and ownership, and are each named arsenic defendants successful the complaint.

Attorney Michael Mersch, who serves arsenic Focus Companies wide counsel, said Friday day that the institution hadn’t yet been served a ailment by the commission, and the institution wouldn’t remark connected ongoing litigation adjacent if it had.

Michael Mendoza, manager of the EEOC’s Las Vegas office, underscored the work of employers, “especially those whose workforce has been historically male,” to institute beardown anti-harassment and retaliation policies.

“The work falls connected the leader to make a harassment-free moving situation for each its employees,” helium said successful the EEOC release.

Contact Mike Shoro astatine mshoro@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mike_shoro connected Twitter.