The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a conciliation agreement with Ryan Companies US Inc. to address allegations of sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, and retaliation against employees at Des Moines metro-area construction projects. The Office of the Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) discovered these issues during a routine compliance evaluation.
According to OFCCP findings, workers faced harassment based on sex, including physical, verbal, and visual harassment while working on federally funded projects like the construction of a U.S. federal courthouse in Des Moines, Iowa. The incidents reportedly occurred between March 2021 and February 2024.
"Federal investigators learned employees had complained repeatedly over several years about illegal behaviors," according to the OFCCP's report. Acting Director Michele Hodge stated that "no worker should ever be illegally harassed and then retaliated against for reporting their workplace concerns."
Ryan Companies agreed to pay $350,000 in monetary relief as part of the resolution and comply with injunctive relief measures and routine monitoring. Carmen Navarro, Regional Director for OFCCP in Chicago, emphasized that "federal contractors must provide a workplace where harassment and retaliation are unacceptable."
Founded in 1938, Ryan Companies is headquartered in Minneapolis and holds contracts with the U.S. General Services Administration worth more than $900 million since 2015.
The OFCCP has launched the Class Member Locator to identify individuals who may be entitled to monetary relief or job placement consideration due to compliance evaluations and complaint investigations.
In addition to Executive Order 11246, the OFCCP enforces Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974.
