Federal Court Orders Vallarta Food Enterprises to Comply with EEOC Subpoenas

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that a federal court ordered Vallarta Food Enterprises, Inc., and related companies, a supermarket chain with approximately 80 locations in Central and Southern California, to fully comply with subpoenas the agency issued in September 2024 relating to Commissioner-initiated charges.

Specifically, the charge alleged that Vallarta Supermarkets failed or refused to recruit, hire, or promote individuals based on their race (white, black, and/or Asian) and national origin (non-Hispanic).

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered Vallarta Supermarkets to produce all requested applicant and employee data to determine if Vallarta Supermarkets is engaging in unlawful hiring practices by excluding non-Hispanic individuals from employment. The Court also noted its deference in EEOC subpoena enforcement proceedings, saying “judicial review is quite narrow.”

“The court recognized EEOC’s broad authority to obtain subpoena compliance from employers when the agency seeks information to investigate discrimination and enforce Title VII’s protections for workers,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “The records Vallarta Supermarkets has been ordered to provide are important in investigating whether the company unlawfully excluded non-Hispanic workers from employment.”

EEOC filed the court action in July 2025 (EEOC v. Vallarta Food Enterprises, Inc., Gonzalez Food Enterprises, Inc., Daniel Food Enterprises, Inc., Jalos Food Enterprises, Inc., Joya Food Enterprises, Inc., Santa Isabel Enterprises, Inc., and Zixta Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 2:25-mc-00058) in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California after first attempting to obtain voluntary compliance with its investigative requests.

The EEOC issued recent technical assistance on recognizing national origin discrimination against American workers, available here: https://www.eeoc.gov/discrimination-against-american-workers-against-law.

For more information on race and color discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination. For more information on national origin discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/national-origin-discrimination.  

Vallarta Supermarkets is a prominent supermarket chain with approximately 80 locations in Central and Southern California, and a corporate office located in Sylmar, California. The related companies in this case are Gonzalez Food Enterprises, Inc., Daniel Food Enterprises, Inc., Jalos Food Enterprises, Inc., Joya Food Enterprises, Inc., Santa Isabel Enterprises, Inc., and Zixta Enterprises, Inc.

The Los Angeles District Office has jurisdiction over parts of California and Nevada; the Hawaiian Islands; American Samoa; Guam; the Northern Mariana Islands; and Wake Island with offices in Los Angeles, Fresno, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Honolulu.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.