State sues Viking Lakes subcontractor for failing to protect worker from sexual assault

The state of Minnesota has joined a lawsuit suing a subcontractor on the Viking Lakes construction project in Eagan, accusing the company of ignoring a worker's repeated claims of harassment and then firing her after she reported being raped on the work site.

A former co-worker, Juan Diego Medina Cisneros, pleaded guilty last month to attacking Norma Izaguirre in 2021. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

The state's participation in the lawsuit against Lakeville-based Absolute Drywall Inc. comes four years after drywall laborer and construction-site cleaner Izaguirre reported the rape to authorities and three years after she filed workplace-discrimination complaints with the state's Department of Human Rights (DHR).

By joining Izaguirre's lawsuit, the state is "sending a clear reminder" to all employers and especially those in the construction industry that "you must provide a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment," said Rebecca Lucero, commissioner of DHR, during a news conference Tuesday in the State Capitol.

Nearly one in four female construction workers surveyed by the Institute for Women's Policy Research reported experiencing "near constant sexual harassment" on the job, Lucero said.

Lucero noted Minnesota has one of the highest percentages of women working in construction, but those workers are not immune to the rampant sexual harassment in the industry.

"By filing to join the lawsuit, we are making it clear that what happened to Norma is completely unacceptable, and that the state of Minnesota will hold employers accountable," said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, flanked by Izaguirre and Lucero.

He said Absolute Drywall fell "abysmally short" of its responsibility to prevent and stop sexual harassment and assault.

Both Lucero and Ellison noted that the company did not have any policies in place to allow workers to report or end harassment on the job.

Officials for Absolute Drywall could not be reached for comment. The subcontractor, which works statewide, was previously investigated for allegedly withholding wages from immigrant workers.

In 2022 Izaguirre filed complaints with DHR, which launched an investigation. In April 2024, DHR ruled that Absolute Drywall had violated Izaguirre's rights and discriminated against her while she was working in 2021 on the Viking Lakes apartment complex in Eagan.

After Absolute Drywall appealed the ruling, the state tried to reach a settlement but negotiations failed, the agency said.

In December, Izaguirre filed her lawsuit. By joining her complaint, the state is demanding Absolute Drywall make "transformational changes" and pay Izaguirre damages, officials said.

The state is demanding Absolute Drywall establish clear anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies for all workers in English and Spanish and create a process for workers to report abuses without fear of retaliation.

Through an interpreter Izaguirre said her lawsuit emphasized the "unacceptable reality that women like me, Latina women, too often face sexual harassment and assault in the construction industry. 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."