EEOC Sues Triad Solution Services, Pro Cleaning Services, and All Cleaning Service, LLC for Systemic Hiring Discrimination

DENVER — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the filing of a federal lawsuit alleging that related companies Triad Solution Services (Triad), Pro Cleaning Services, and All Cleaning Service, LLC engaged in a multi-year hiring scheme which unlawfully excluded qualified American and non-Hispanic applicants from janitorial jobs across Colorado.

The suit alleged the companies favored workers of Latin American origin in order to maintain a labor force they could more easily intimidate and exploit, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The defendants provide janitorial and maintenance services for schools, businesses, and grocery stores, including King Soopers, in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah.

According to the lawsuit, from 2016 to 2022 Triad’s Colorado workforce was near uniformly comprised of workers of Latin American origin, despite repeated applications from qualified non-Hispanic American candidates for open positions. The EEOC alleged that the companies routinely rejected American applicants to preserve a workforce they believed would tolerate unlawful working conditions and several American applicants were turned away even when the companies were actively seeking new employees.

The EEOC alleged that after steering hiring toward workers of Latin American origin, the companies subjected these employees to intimidation and coercive working conditions. Workers reported being told they lacked the right to complain because they were not American, and described threats, harassment, and a general atmosphere of fear. Employees also reported being required to work seven days a week, denied overtime pay, misclassified as independent contractors, and discouraged from raising concerns about wages or treatment.

“Title VII’s national origin provisions protect American workers. An employer violates the law when it rejects hiring qualified American workers in favor of foreign workers who the employer then also unlawfully exploits,” said acting EEOC General Counsel Catherine Eschbach. “The EEOC is committed to ensuring that American workers are not shut out of the workforce as a result of discrimination and is working to ensure American workers’ access to jobs.”

“Employers cannot screen out American and non-Hispanic applicants in order to maintain a labor force they believe will accept unlawful working conditions,” said Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix District. “Such practices violate federal law. The EEOC will aggressively investigate and, when necessary, prosecute employers that engage in discriminatory hiring schemes.”

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on national origin. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Triad Solution Services, Pro Cleaning Services, and All Cleaning Service, LLC, Case No. 1:26-cv-02938) in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

EEOC Denver Field Office Director Sherrie Hayashi said, “Every worker — regardless of national origin — is entitled to fair consideration for employment. Federal law prohibits employers from refusing to hire non-Hispanic American job applicants.”

For more information on national origin discrimination and specifically anti-American discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/national-origin-discrimination and https://www.eeoc.gov/discrimination-against-american-workers-against-law.

The EEOC’s Phoenix District Office has jurisdiction over Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and part of 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.