Eight Latina women have filed a class action civil rights suit against their employer, ABM Industries Inc. (ABM), alleging years of sexual harassment.
The women, who were employed by AMB as janitors to clean facilities in the Minneapolis area, allege their supervisors forced them to engage in sex acts. According to the filing, the women's supervisors took advantage of the women's poor English skills and threatened retaliation if they did not comply with requests for dates or sexual advances.
"Pursuant to Title VII and the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Plaintiff Class brings its civil rights claims to address severe sex harassment of female janitors by their direct supervisors," the filing stated. "The egregious sex harassment has taken many forms, including coerced sex and additional assaults in the workplace. Plaintiff Class also files this action to address other pervasive sex discrimination and retaliation against women at work."
Headquartered in San Francisco, ABM is one of the nation's largest facility services contractors and employs approximately 75,000 people. According to the suit, the plaintiff class includes more than 100 female employees.
