A that serves flights at Denver International Airport came under fire this week for ignoring and hostile work environments, according to a new federal employment discrimination lawsuit filed in Colorado.
One female employee at Gate Gourmet, the Virginia-based airline catering company, was frequently harassed by a male colleague between 2022 and 2023, the lawsuit alleges. When she reported him, her supervisors failed to investigate, according to the lawsuit.
“People should be able to earn a paycheck without having to tolerate harassing comments, remarks, or indignities,” Mary Jo O’Neill, regional attorney for the Phoenix District, . The agency’s Phoenix District Office covers Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and part of New Mexico.
“When an employee notifies a supervisor about sexual harassment, the employer must take decisive action to restore a safe workplace, not simply shrug off the employee’s concerns or dismiss their allegations without a meaningful investigation,” O’Neill said.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit against Gate Gourmet in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on Friday, according to court records.
The agency launched an investigation into the catering company in October 2023 and determined in March 2026 that the company had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against workplace discrimination, the lawsuit stated.
EEOC officials reached out to Gate Gourmet to “provide the opportunity to remedy the discriminatory practices,” but company officials declined, the lawsuit alleges.
Gate Gourmet officials did not immediately respond Monday to requests for comment.
The employee who reported the harassment was hired in October 2022 at a Gate Gourmet facility near DIA, according to the lawsuit. She was responsible for stocking trucks and loading catering onto airplanes.
When she was hired, the employee was matched with a mentor: a male colleague who would frequently stare at her and make sexualized comments or gestures, the lawsuit alleges. He would ask her to “bend over a little more” so he could look at her backside or to “lean back” in her seat to give him a better view of her breasts, according to the lawsuit.
When the employee reported the sexual harassment, one supervisor reportedly said he did not “give a (expletive),” the lawsuit stated. Several other supervisors ignored her complaints or mocked her, the lawsuit alleges.
No investigation was ever conducted by the company, according to the lawsuit.
Gate Gourmet terminated the woman’s employment in July 2023, the lawsuit stated. Officials told her not to return to work because she “complains a lot,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Sexual vulgarities and references to someone’s body features do not belong in the workplace and can amount to a hostile work environment when an employer fails to take remedial action to end severe and pervasive harassment,” EEOC Denver Field Office Director Sherrie Hayashi said in a statement.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
