Focus Plumbing Pays $500,000 to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit

LAS VEGAS – Focus Plumbing, LLC agreed to pay $500,000 and along with Focus Electric, LLC, Focus Concrete, LLC, Focus Fire Protection, LLC, and Focus Framing, Door, & Trim, LLC, agreed to furnish comprehensive injunctive relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC alleged that since 2017, Focus subjected a class of monolingual Spanish-speaking female employees to a hostile work environment and quid pro quo sexual harassment that included unwanted touching, groping, sexual advances, sexually offensive comments and requests. The EEOC’s lawsuit further alleged that employees were threatened if they rejected the sexual advances whereas others were offered better work assignments and hours if they acquiesced to sexual acts.       

This alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Focus Plumbing, LLC, et. al., Case No. 2:21-cv-01758-GMN-EJY) in U.S. District Court, District of Nevada, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. 

The consent decree resolving the EEOC’s lawsuit requires Focus Plumbing, LLC to pay $500,000 in monetary relief. In addition to monetary relief, the company will also provide specialized training on sexual harassment to human resources officers and managers to ensure they are aware of their obligations to prevent sexual harassment and how to address complaints. The decree also requires Focus to post a notice about the lawsuit, as well as hire an external equal employment opportunity monitor. The consent decree will remain under the court’s jurisdiction during the two-and-a-half-year term.

Female-identified employees who worked for Focus Plumbing, LLC and were subjected to sexual harassment from October 1, 2017 through October 12, 2022, may be eligible to receive a monetary award under the Consent Decree. Questions regarding making a claim and/or filling out the claims form should be directed to the EEOC at 1-213-785-3095, Option 9.

“I want to commend the women for their bravery in coming forward and speaking up about the atrocities they were subjected to,” said Los Angeles District’s Regional Attorney Anna Park. “The EEOC has always focused on addressing harassment faced by the most vulnerable, especially in such fields as construction, and will continue to do so.”

“This case came to our attention through our partnership with the national EMPLEO program,” said Michael Mendoza, director of the EEOC’s Las Vegas Local Office. “It was through this program that these women felt brave enough to report the harassment they were experiencing which in turn gave the EEOC the opportunity to investigate and remedy this situation for all in the workplace.”

EMPLEO (Employment, Education, and Outreach) is an alliance of government agencies, consulates and non-profit organizations dedicated to empowering the Hispanic community, especially recent immigrants, through education, services and protection of workplace rights and responsibilities. Find out more information regarding this program at https://www.facebook.com/programaempleo.

Preventing systemic workplace harassment through strong enforcement is also one of the six national priorities identified by the Commission’s Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP). For more information on harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment.

If you feel that you have been discriminated against or harassed in the workplace, reach out to the EEOC at 800-669-4000. For more information about sexual harassment, visit: https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.  Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.