Worker raped at Eagan job site sues drywall company after her firing
Absolute Drywall, a subcontractor on Eagan's Viking Lakes development, is accused of violating state law by allowing sexual harassment to go unchecked and ultimately firing an employee after she was raped at the job site in 2021, state leaders alleged on Tuesday.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights, represented by Attorney General Keith Ellison, on Tuesday filed to join Norma Izaguirre's lawsuit against the construction company.
Juan Diego Medina Cisneros, 31, pleaded guilty to felony criminal sexual conduct in Dakota County last month in connection with raping Izaguirre at the job site while they were both Absolute Drywall employees in May of 2021.
Speaking at a press conference, MDHR Commissioner Rebecca Lucero accused Absolute Drywall of violating the Minnesota Human Rights Act by fostering an environment that allowed sexual harassment and rape to go "unchecked."
"At the end, Absolute Drywall fired Norma because she reported the sexual harassment to the company," Lucero said Tuesday.
Izaguirre began working for Absolute Drywall in January 2021 and began to immediately experience consistent sexual harassment, including unwanted sexual advances, according to MDHR.
MDHR said Izaguirre reported the harassment repeatedly and reported the rape, but Absolute Drywall allegedly "failed to take any meaningful action" and ultimately fired Izaguirre.
In a statement Tuesday, Izaguirre said she hopes speaking out will empower other women to tell their stories and hold abusive employers accountable.
'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,' Izaguirre stated.
A 2021 report by the Institute for Women's Policy and Research found nearly one in four women working in construction stated they experience near constant sexual harassment on the job.
Bring Me The News has reached out to Absolute Drywall for comment.
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Los Angeles Times
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New York Post
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