In what was one of the largest employment discrimination settlements every received in a single lawsuit, the EEOC announced today that it has settled a sexual harassment claim against ABM Industries and two of its subsidiaries for $5.8 million. The company has not admitted any wrongdoing.

ABM is a building maintenance company with some 91,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada. The 100-year-old company, based in New York City, provides janitorial, security and landscaping services and reports more than $3.5 billion in annual sales.

The sexual harassment claim brought by the EEOC involved 21 Hispanic women workers who claim they had to endure illegal behavior ranging from explicit sexual comments and inappropriate touching to rape. The charges date back to 2001.

According to the EEOC complaint, the victims were forced to deal with "varying degrees of unwelcome touching, explicit sexual comments and requests for sex by 14 male co-workers and supervisors, one of whom was a registered sex offender. Some of the harassers allegedly often exposed themselves, groped female employees' private parts from behind, and even raped at least one of the victims."

Furthermore, when the women complained ABM failed to respond to the complaints or fire the harassers, which created a "dangerous and hostile environment."

Sarah McConnell, ABM's senior vice president and general counsel, said, "We constantly strive to provide all of our employees a professional and safe work environment free of harassment of any kind."

"While the consent decree explicitly denies wrongdoing by our company, we are pleased to resolve this matter in a manner consistent with our commitment to leading policies and practices."

Sexual Harassment Still a Significant Problem for U.S. Workers

The EEOC received nearly 12,700 complaints of sexual harassment last year.

"Despite progress, sexual harassment remains a significant problem for our nation's workforce," says EEOC chair Jacqueline A. Berrien.

The settlement with ABM is one of the largest ever involving a single lawsuit brought by the EEOC. Last year the agency achieved its largest ever single-claim settlement in a disability accommodation complaint against Sears, Roebuck & Co. In that case, 235 workers complained that the company violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by refusing to make reasonable accommodations for their disabilities -- wrongfully terminating them instead.

Source:

"ABM to pay $5.8 million in sex-harassment case" (MSNBC, August 2, 2010)