A Metroplex company accused of sexually harassing women and persuading them to enter sham marriages to foreign nationals seeking U.S. citizenship has settled a federal discrimination lawsuit.
Courtesy Building Services, a janitorial and construction company with offices in Dallas and Fort Worth, forced former Operations Manager Melissa Gaona and other women to work in a "good old boy" atmosphere, according to the suit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Comments about women's bodies and references to the strip club across the street "were a constant occurrence," the agency alleged.
The suit also alleged that Gaona and at least one other employee were pressured as part of their jobs and during work hours to agree to marry noncitizens who were friends of management. The marriages were "for the purpose of furthering attainment of citizenship for the noncitizen," according to the suit, which was filed in federal court last year.