The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) promised in a March 2022 hearing to address what it considered to be “severe and pervasive” discrimination in the construction sector. According to EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows, “[M]any women and people of color have either been shut out of construction jobs or face discrimination that limits their ability to thrive in these careers.”
The EEOC is keeping its promise. Since the March hearing, the EEOC has filed numerous lawsuits against construction companies throughout the country, including Arizona, California, Florida, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin. Tackling harassment issues in the construction industry appears to be the primary theme.
For example, the EEOC filed suit in California against a construction claiming that supervisors subjected Latino workers to national origin harassment. The agency alleged that the supervisors referred to the workers as “wetbacks” and “Home Depoteros” and mocked them if they could not speak English. The alleged harassment also included anti-Latino graffiti found in portable restrooms at the worksite that included abusive terms and offensive imagery demeaning to Latino workers.
In July 2022, the EEOC settled a lawsuit it filed against a Washington construction contractor in which the agency alleged that seven current and former female employees had endured sexual harassment during their employment. The company’s owner purportedly made comments that female...
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