The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged South Austin Nissan, a car dealership in Austin, Texas, operated by NICPA Central Auto Group LLC, for allegedly subjecting female employees to sexual harassment and retaliated against employees when they reported the harassment, according to the EEOC.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, three managers at South Austin Nissan engaged in egregious and persistent sexual harassment toward female employees. These managers allegedly regularly touched or attempted to touch female employees. They also allegedly made sexual comments about female employees, critiquing their physical appearance and referring to the employees’ personal relationships.

The EEOC lawsuit alleges managers encouraged female salespeople to “show more, sell more,” suggesting the women wear revealing clothing at work to succeed in sales opportunities. The sales managers allegedly created a culture in which discussing vulgar sexual encounters and watching sexual videos was fairly commonplace. Several female employees who suffered harassment were forced to leave their jobs because of the managers’ conduct.  

Several employees, including a male manager, reported the harassers’ behavior to both the NICPA Central Auto Group’s director of human resources and chief operating officer. However, no appropriate investigation, effective corrective action, or remedial action was taken in response to the complaints, according to the EEOC lawsuit. Instead, the reporting employees were transferred to other dealerships managed by NICPA Central Auto Group. One reporting manager was transferred, received a reduction in pay, and was subsequently terminated for standing up against harassment.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. EEOC filed suit, Civil Action No. 1:23-cv-01541, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. In this case, EEOC seeks back pay damages, compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive remedies, including implementation of stronger oversight over investigations into sexual harassment and discrimination.