Denver, United States: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has sued Gate Gourmet, alleging that the global airline catering company subjected a female employee to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment while she worked at Denver International Airport in Colorado.
The EEOC announced the lawsuit on August 28, 2026, saying Gate Gourmet, which is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, violated federal employment law by allegedly failing to protect the employee from repeated unwelcome sexual conduct by a male colleague between 2022 and 2023.
According to the lawsuit, the female employee was repeatedly subjected to vulgar comments and gestures by the male colleague while working for Gate Gourmet at Denver International Airport. The EEOC alleges that the coworker made comments concerning his sexual preferences and the woman’s body, as well as comments about his desire to touch her body in a restroom.
The lawsuit further alleges that Gate Gourmet failed to properly investigate the employee’s complaints and did not take adequate steps to protect her from the alleged continuing harassment.
Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Phoenix District, said employees should be able to work without having to endure harassing comments or degrading treatment. She said that once an employee informs a supervisor about sexual harassment, an employer is required to take decisive action to restore a safe workplace rather than dismissing the concerns without a meaningful investigation.
The EEOC said the alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment.
The federal agency filed the lawsuit, EEOC v. Gate Gourmet, Case No. 1:26-cv-04015, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Before filing the case, the EEOC said it attempted to resolve the matter through its administrative conciliation process, which is the agency’s pre-litigation settlement procedure.
Sherrie Hayashi, director of the EEOC’s Denver Field Office, said federal law prohibits sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. She said sexual vulgarities and references to a person’s body do not belong in a workplace and can contribute to a hostile work environment when an employer fails to take remedial action to stop severe and pervasive harassment.
The case concerns alleged workplace conduct that occurred in 2022 and 2023, while the EEOC’s lawsuit was announced on August 28, 2026.
The EEOC’s Phoenix District Office has jurisdiction over Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and part of New Mexico. The agency said it is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against private-sector businesses and other private employers for violations of federal employment discrimination laws. For public-sector employers, the EEOC shares enforcement jurisdiction with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
The EEOC also coordinates the federal government’s efforts to enforce employment antidiscrimination laws.
The agency has provided information on sexual harassment through its official guidance for workers and employers. The EEOC’s lawsuit represents allegations at this stage; the filing itself does not constitute a final judicial finding that Gate Gourmet violated federal law.
