EEOC Sues Sequoias Tree Expert for Sex Discrimination

HOUSTON — Sequoias Tree Expert, LLC, a Houston-based commercial tree trimming and landscaping company servicing utility companies in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico, violated federal law by refusing to hire female job applicants into field positions, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, in February 2025, a female applicant applied for a groundsman position at Sequoias Tree and was told the company would not hire her because she is a woman. Meanwhile, Sequoias Tree continued to hire male applicants for the same positions. Sequoias Tree also refused to hire a class of female job applicants for employment in field positions like groundsman, trimmer, foreman and driver because of their sex, the EEOC charged.

“Federal law mandates that employers make hiring decisions based on a worker’s individual merits, not their sex,” said acting EEOC Dallas District Regional Attorney Ronald L. Phillips. “Female workers continue to face discriminatory barriers to their participation in various occupations and industries, and EEOC will act forcefully to ensure they have fair access to such employment.”

The conduct alleged in the EEOC’s complaint violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in hiring and all other aspects of employment. The EEOC filed suit (U.S. EEOC v. Sequoias Tree Expert, LLC, Case No. 4:26-cv-08529) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“Employers must base their hiring decisions on the qualifications of applicants, not on outdated and irrational sex-based stereotypes or assumptions,” said EEOC Dallas District Office Director Travis Nicholson. “Refusing to hire or even consider applicants because of their sex deprives them of equal opportunities to earn a living, and the EEOC is committed to stopping that unlawful conduct.”

For more information about sex discrimination is available at https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Dallas District Office has jurisdiction over a substantial part of Texas and parts of southern New Mexico.

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 also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.