The Cleaning Authority-Fox Valley to Pay $200,000 to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuit

MILWAUKEE – The Cleaning Authority-Fox Valley, a cleaning service provider in eastern Wisconsin, will pay $200,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC alleged that The Cleaning Authority-Fox Valley routinely subjected female workers to sexual harassment through unwanted sexual advances, unwanted touching and sexual comments. The EEOC also alleged a female employee was forced to quit to avoid the harassment, and that employees who opposed the sexual harassment were fired in retaliation.

Such conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits a sexually hostile environment in the workplace. Retaliation for reporting sexual harassment also violates Title VII. The resolution resolves the agency’s lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, (EEOC v. Nekimi Holdings, LLC d/b/a The Cleaning Authority-Fox Valley, Case No:1:23-cv-01293-WCG.)

Under the three-year consent decree settling the case, The Cleaning Authority-Fox Valley will review, revise as necessary, and implement its anti-discrimination policies that prohibit sexual harassment and retaliation. Employees at The Cleaning Authority-Fox Valley will receive in-person training on sexual harassment, and the managers and supervisory employees who oversee other employees will receive additional sexual harassment training. In addition, for the first year of the decree, an outside monitor will be available to receive and review complaints of harassment and retaliation.

“All employees have a right to a work environment free of sexual harassment,” said Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago District Office. “In a predominantly female workforce, like the cleaning service industry, a failure to enforce anti-harassment policies can render all workers in the company vulnerable to offensive and harsh treatment—especially if the sexual harasser is in a position of authority. Just like the harassment itself, terminating workers who complain about sexual harassment is unacceptable and unlawful.”

Amrith Kaur Aakre, district director of the Chicago District Office, said, “This lawsuit sends a message to employers that the EEOC will fight to eradicate workplace sexual harassment. Employers break the law when they fail to implement effective anti-harassment policies.”  

For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation. For more information on sexual harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment.

The EEOC’s Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of discrimination, administrative enforcement and the conduct of agency litigation in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with area offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

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