St. Cloud YMCA manager harassed female employees, lawsuit claims

ST. CLOUD — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA, alleging that leadership failed to take meaningful action against a manager who repeatedly harassed female employees.

The suit asserts the YMCA violated the civil rights of employees by subjecting them to a hostile work environment dating back to December 2021.

The complaint states the employees were harassed based on sex, including “repeated and unwanted sexual comments,” and that a manager “repeatedly propositioned one of the [employees] for sex, which was unwelcome.” The complaint states the manager also subjected the individuals, including some who were teenagers, to “offensive and inappropriate comments about their bodies, and he made demeaning comments about women, all of which was unwelcome.” The lawsuit did not identify the manager.

In the complaint, the EEOC states the employees reported the harassment to supervisors, but the YMCA “failed to take prompt, remedial action to prevent or remedy the harassment” and furthermore, “accused the teenage [employee] of engaging in gossip,” which led the employee to quit.

The EEOC is asking the federal court to order the YMCA to carry out policies to ensure equal employment opportunities, as well as provide compensation to the impacted employees.

Greg Gack, the executive director of the St. Cloud YMCA, said in a statement on Thursday that the organization has been cooperating with the EEOC as the matter has unfolded and is being “intentional in creating a healthy and positive work environment for all employees.”

“We take the safety and well-being of our employees very seriously,” Gack said. “This is a personnel matter which has led to the termination of the employee in November 2022 following an investigation. Due to the confidentiality of this matter, we are not at liberty to share any other information at this time.”