Federal Lawsuit Charges Fitness Center Subjected Employees, Including Teens, to Hostile Work Environment and Failed to Take Prompt Action to Stop Harassment
MINNEAPOLIS – The St. Cloud Area Family YMCA violated federal laws by subjecting female employees, including some who were teenagers, to sexual harassment by one of its managers , failing to take prompt action to stop the harassment, and prompting an employee to resign as a result, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the EEOC’s suit, a manager repeatedly propositioned one of the employees for sex. The manager also made unwelcome sexual comments about the female employees’ bodies and physical appearance, and made demeaning comments about women. The employees reported the harassment to YMCA management, which failed to take prompt action to stop or prevent the harassment. As a result, one of the employees had to resign to avoid the harassment, the EEOC said.
Such alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment. Title VII also prohibits constructive discharge, which involves discriminatory conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would feel compelled to resign. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. St. Cloud Area Family YMCA, Civil Action No. 0:24-cv-03738 in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.
“Employees have a right to work in workplaces free from sexual harassment,” said Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney in the EEOC’s Chicago office. “When employees report discriminatory harassment, the law requires employers to take action — and to do so promptly and not engage in delay tactics.”
Amrith Aakre, district director of the EEOC’s Chicago office, said, “Sexual harassment continues to be a problem in the workplace. No one should be put in the position of having to give up their job to escape unlawful harassment.”
The EEOC’s Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with area offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
Visit the EEOC’s Youth@Work website http://www.eeoc.gov/youth/ for information for teens and other young workers about employment discrimination, including curriculum guides for students and teachers and videos to help young workers learn about their rights and responsibilities.
The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
