Construction company allowed sexual harassment, rape of employee: Lawsuit

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and state Department of Human Rights have joined a lawsuit against a construction company accused of allowing the sexual harassment and rape of an employee, and then firing that employee after she filed multiple reports about the abuse.  

Norma Izaguirre filed a civil lawsuit in February against her former employer, Absolute Drywall Inc. The company is accused of violating the Human Rights Act for failing to prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence in the workplace. 

The civil suit claims Izaguirre suffered repeated sexual harassment and assault at the hands of her co-worker, Juan Diego Medina Cisneros. Despite filing at least five reports about the harassment, the company failed to investigate her concerns and she ultimately lost her job.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and MDHR commissioner Rebecca Lucero announced they had filed to join Izaguirre’s lawsuit.

"The state’s decision to join my case against Absolute Drywall is an acknowledgment of not only my truth, but also the unacceptable reality that women like me, Latina women, too often face sexual harassment and assault in the construction industry," said Izaguirre in a statement. "I hope that by standing up for myself and speaking out, other women feel empowered to tell their stories and employers who are abusive to their workers are held accountable."

Absolute Drywall Civil Suit 

The backstory:

According to a civil suit filed in Dakota County, Izaguirre started working for the construction company in January 2021 as a drywall laborer. 

Izaguirre claims her co-worker, Medina, started seeking her out at work and made "inappropriate and sexually harassing comments" to her. The sexual harassment continued to escalate, and ultimately, she was raped in the bathroom at a job site in Eagan, according to the lawsuit. 

Medina was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct. Court records indicate Medina entered a guilty plea to the third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge for the assault, and his sentencing is scheduled for July 2025. 

The civil lawsuit indicates Izaguirre reported the ongoing sexual harassment and assault to human resources, two supervisors, and the owner, but they failed to investigate. 

Eventually, her hours were reduced and they stopped assigning her jobs. After her employment was terminated, Medina received a promotion at work, according to the lawsuit. 

The civil suit claims no one from Absolute Drywall ever contacted her about the investigation. The suit argues the company failed to take appropriate action to prevent the sexual assault from happening. 

MDHR's investigation

Dig deeper:

The MDHR said it launched an investigation into the company and found it "fostered a workplace culture that allowed sexual harassment and rape." adding that the company "did not have any policies prohibiting sexual harassment or clear ways for employees to make sexual harassment complaints," the press release reads. 

The MDHR is seeking Absolute Drywall to establish and enforce anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, in addition to ensuring that employees are aware of these policies, and have accessible ways to file a report.  

The civil suit is requesting that the compensatory, punitive and other damages are determined by a jury at trial. The lawsuit is also seeking over $50,000 in damages as allowed under the MHRA. 

What they're saying:

"We are sending a clear reminder to all employers: you must provide a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment. When anyone is discriminated against or harassed, our state and our businesses are deprived of enormous potential," said Lucero. "Norma deserved to be treated with humanity. Instead, Absolute Drywall allowed sexual harassment and rape to go unchecked. Our Department will hold employers like Absolute Drywall accountable when they violate the law because employees in every industry, including the construction industry, must be able to live with dignity, free from discrimination."

The MDHR said Minnesota has one of the highest percentages of women working in construction, yet sexual harassment remains a widespread issue in the field. A 2021 report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research found that nearly one in four women in the field reported experiencing near-constant sexual harassment on the job, the press release states.