With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
ABM Industries settles sexual harassment suit with female janitorial workers
Listen
• 2:07
Maria Quintero, in front with microphone, and Teresa Sanchez spoke of incidents of sexual harassment while working as janitors for ABM Industries, Inc., at a Los Angeles press conference, Sep. 2, 2010.
(
Brian Watt/KPCC
)
Maintenance contractor ABM Industries has agreed to pay a settlement of close to $6 million to 21 Latina janitorial workers in California. The workers had filed a class action lawsuit against the company for what they described as egregious sexual harassment.
The harassment started almost a decade ago. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission - or EEOC - sued on the women’s behalf in 2007. Anna Park, the agency’s lead attorney in the case, described the behavior the women endured from 14 male co-workers, one of whom was a registered sex offender.
"Some were groped in and around their vaginal area. Some women were forced to touch erect penises of their co-workers and supervisors," Park said at a news conference announcing the settlement at the EEOC's Los Angeles bureau. "One woman was cleaning a bathroom when a supervisor attempted to assault her by closing the door in the bathroom while she was cleaning it, turned off the lights and tried to grab her legs and buttocks."
The memories were still fresh for Maria Quintero, who worked for ABM Janitorial Services in Fresno. Like many of the women, her primary language is Spanish. She told reporters that her supervisor harassed her in an office and said ugly things she couldn’t repeat. She also remembered seeing a colleague abused, but that was as much as she was able to say without breaking down in tears.
Support for LAist comes from
Quintero collapsed behind the lectern, and the formal news conference ended. EEOC staff escorted reporters to another room where more plaintiffs told similar stories… with similar difficulty… and without telling their names. One woman said that when she complained to other supervisors, they never did anything.
"They act like they don’t know anything, but they did know," she said quietly.
The women in the class action lawsuit worked primarily in Fresno, Bakersfield and Visalia. ABM Industries provides janitorial, maintenance, and parking services to office buildings and other facilities in the United States and Canada. In the settlement agreement, the company denies any wrongdoing
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Kevin Lacy has an obsession with documenting California’s forgotten and decaying places. -
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures. -
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump. -
The university says the compact, as the Trump administration called it, could undermine free inquiry and academic excellence. -
This is the one time you can do this legally! -
Metro officials said it will be able to announce an opening date “soon.”
Best of LAist