I experienced sexual harassment, sexual assault, and racism from a subcontractor on an ACE project site. ACE banned the perpetrator from the jobsite and blacklisted them only after the contract ended. They did not break their contract with this subcontractor. The subcontracting company was owned by the perpetrator, so the hostile individual/owner was allowed to wait outside the site. They continued to be a threat to my mental and physical safety. I deserve to feel safe at work. So although they were banned from physically stepping onsite, they still received ACE's business and were compensated. For me, this highlights the culture of tolerance and submissiveness to racism and sexism in the construction industry. The lack of accountability, led me to believe that at ACE, the subcontractor relationship and success of the job are more important than employee safety. ACE claims they have zero tolerance for racism. If so, ties should have been cut with the racist's company immediately. HR never reached out and this was not recorded as a safety incident to my knowledge. Still new at the company, I had only just learned that ACE had no company trainings in place regarding sexual harassment and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. I persistently followed up with my managers that these trainings needed to be put in place. I was told those trainings don't work, but I was insistent for months. ACE finally had the workplace culture trainings mid-2021. Though not required by federal law or most states, OSHA and the US EEOC have highly recommended these trainings for years. It's shameful and irresponsible that it took so long to prioritize these trainings on behalf of your employees, whose workplace safety you're responsible for. I didn't think to ask about these trainings during the interview process since they're so commonplace. Had I known ACE didn't have the trainings in 2019, I would have recognized this as a red flag and rejected the job offer. I have had the opportunity to speak with upper management on all of this and the response I consistently received was "if you had been on any other team this wouldn't have happened." This response lacks accountability and points to inconsistent company standards regarding workplace behavior. I'm an agreeable, likeable, hard-working person and ACE should have been able to put me on any team without issue. In my opinion, what happed to me should have been prevented.
This company has a lot of red flags regarding inclusion and equality, most managers higher up are emotional and lack professionalism, estimating is a dead end, and field staff work for a minority is exclusive and uncomfortable - hindering your growth as professional. I would not recommend this company to anyone I care about.
For my personal well-being, I will be striking ACE from my resume permanently. I would rather explain a gap in employment than be associated with this company.
