FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Elizabeth Kristen
415-593-0052
ekristen@legalaidatwork.org
Bakersfield, CA – Today, Legal Aid at Work, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights of low-wage workers, filed a lawsuit alleging that Bimbo Bakeries USA, Inc. (Bimbo) and several of its male employees are liable for sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and invasion of privacy. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of Joanna Palacios, a full-time driver and 9-year employee of the company, comes after years of systemic mistreatment in Bimbo’s deeply male-dominated Bakersfield distribution facility. The Complaint alleges that Joanna endured a longstanding pattern of discrimination, harassment, and ultimately retaliation for standing up against this unfair treatment. In addition to being consistently treated more harshly than male employees and denied employment opportunities in favor of less qualified men, Joanna was subjected to a campaign of harassment by male coworkers who obtained and circulated explicit pictures of Joanna to other men both inside and outside of the Bakersfield depot. Bimbo has failed to hold any of the responsible parties to account, despite Joanna’s complaints about their conduct.
Joanna, a single mother of three children, has worked at Bimbo’s Bakersfield depot since 2015. As alleged in the lawsuit: Bimbo’s Bakersfield facility has long maintained discriminatory hiring practices, with almost no women employed in full-time positions. Despite her qualifications, Bimbo twice passed Joanna over for full-time driver positions, hiring less experienced male candidates instead. After she raised concerns about the discriminatory hiring practices, Bimbo eventually offered her a full-time driver position. Joanna then became the only woman full-time driver out of a workforce of approximately 20 men.
Once promoted, the lawsuit contends Joanna was subjected to regular harassment by her supervisor and coworkers in an attempt to force her out of the full-time role she had fought for. After Joanna reported the harassment to Bimbo’s management, her supervisor retaliated by demoting her, removing her from a position with a fixed sales route to a much less desirable position without one. Meanwhile, the Complaint states that her male coworkers shared naked photos of Joanna without her consent, circulating them among Bimbo employees, customers, and vendors. The coworkers managed to conceal their conduct from Joanna for months; when she eventually found out about their dehumanizing conduct, she was humiliated. Despite Joanna reporting this severe harassment and invasion of privacy, the Complaint alleges no corrective measures have been taken against her harassers in connection with the sharing of the photos.
Despite her repeated efforts to seek redress, the Complaint alleges that Bimbo has taken no meaningful action to address the harassment or discrimination. Instead, it has continued to retaliate against Joanna for speaking out, further isolating her in the workplace. Despite the emotional toll these years of mistreatment have taken on Joanna, she cannot afford to give up her job at Bimbo. Joanna’s role at Bimbo is one of a vanishing number of blue-collar jobs in the Central Valley that pay middle-class salaries. It has allowed her to support her children, put a roof over her head, and, most recently, to put her daughter through University of California, Berkeley where she is earning an engineering degree.
“Being the only woman in a position like this, I felt like I had to fight just to prove myself every single day,” said Joanna. “All I want is for Bimbo to treat me and other women with the respect we deserve.”
The case highlights the pervasive issue of gender discrimination in the workplace, particularly in male-dominated industries like transportation and logistics. According to recent data, only 6.9% of drivers in the U.S. are women, and this figure is even lower in certain industries, including at Bimbo’s Bakersfield facility. Women who do manage to secure such jobs often face harassment and retaliation, making it difficult for them to remain employed.
The case also has broader implications for the women of Kern County, where the gender wage gap is significant. According to the most recent Census data, women in Kern County earn a median income of just $29,316, where men earn $43,759. Women in Kern County are more likely than men to live in poverty (21% vs. 16%). Full-time jobs like the ones at Bimbo’s Bakersfield depot are crucial for women who are trying to support their families, but systemic barriers like rampant sexual harassment prevent them all too often trap them in a cycle of poverty and exploitation.
“This case isn’t just about one woman fighting for her rights—it’s about making sure that women are not systematically restricted from well-paying, stable jobs like the one Joanna had to fight for,” said Elizabeth Kristen, Director of the Gender Equity and LGBTQ Rights Program at Legal Aid at Work. “We need to send a message that no company, no matter how large, can get away with this unlawful conduct.”
Legal Aid at Work encourages any workers who may be experiencing sex discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, or other employment law violations to contact the organization for assistance.
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About Legal Aid at Work:
Legal Aid at Work partners with people to help them understand and assert their workplace rights. We also advocate for employment laws and systems that empower low-paid workers and marginalized communities. legalaidatwork.org