EEOC Sues Gator Strong Services for Sexual Harassment and Sex Discrimination

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gator Strong, LLC, a commercial and residential home services company operating in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and formerly in Wilmington, North Carolina, violated federal law by subjecting a female office manager to sexual harassment and firing her, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the suit, the former chief operating officer (COO) of Gator Strong, LLC subjected the office manager to a campaign of sexual harassment, including repeatedly making sexual comments to her and humiliating her in front of her colleagues because of her sex. The harassment escalated over time, leading to the COO presenting the office manager with an inappropriate written proposition. The COO repeatedly attempted to talk about the proposition; after she refused to discuss it multiple times, the COO fired her. The lawsuit also alleged that Gator Strong NC, LLC has successor liability for the unlawful conduct.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex in the workplace. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Gator Strong, LLC and Gator Strong NC, LLC, Case No. [7:25-cv-01267-M]) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“No employee should have to tolerate vulgar sexual propositions to earn a paycheck,” said Melinda C. Dugas, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office. “The provocative nature of such conduct is particularly egregious when it comes from a top executive. The EEOC is committed to eradicating such abusive behavior from the workplace.”

For more information on sex-based employment discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination. For more information on sexual harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment.

The EEOC’s Charlotte District Office has jurisdiction over North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

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.