In an industry long dominated by men, a Latina immigrant is taking a stand against systemic discrimination and intimidation at a large Massachusetts construction company. Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) has filed a discrimination complaint on behalf of Ms. Carbajal against J. Derenzo Co., exposing severe and pervasive harassment based on gender, race, and national origin in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination laws. The complaint was filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD).
J. Derenzo, a multi-million-dollar Boston-based company, has played a prominent role in numerous public and private developments, including several Harvard University projects, Boston Landing—home to New Balance’s future headquarters — and the W Hotel in Boston.
The discrimination complaint was filed on behalf of Ms. Carbajal, a seasoned laborer with more than twelve years of experience, who joined a J. Derenzo project in April 2025. She quickly found herself isolated as the only woman, and one of just two Latino workers, among hundreds of white men. What followed was a campaign of verbal abuse, racist and sexist taunts, and explicit threats.
Among the numerous incidents, Ms. Carbajal alleges:
- A supervisor degraded her language skills, despite her English fluency, saying: “If she could speak English, she would have the right to speak.”
- She was threatened with violence: “You don’t show knives to people with guns.”
- She was repeatedly assigned to unsafe, physically demanding tasks that should have required multiple workers.
- She endured sexist taunts: “These two girls have me by the balls.”
- Despite holding Temporary Protected Status (TPS), she was repeatedly threatened with deportation: “Trump is coming for you, better fix your papers or you’ll get deported.”
- Trump bobbleheads and “MAGA”-style hats were displayed on company vehicles to taunt and intimidate her.
Despite repeatedly reporting this campaign of harassment and abuse to multiple supervisors, no one intervened. Instead, Ms. Carbajal was left to work in an environment of constant fear and humiliation. The situation became so intolerable that she was ultimately forced to resign.
“Construction is a demanding job, and I’ve succeeded in these spaces for many years prior to this instance with J. Derenzo,” said Ms. Carbajal. “My experience at J. Derenzo shook me deeply. No one should have to feel unsafe at work just for being a woman or an immigrant.”
A proud member of Centro Presente and the National TPS Alliance, Ms. Carbajal is speaking out not only for herself, but for countless immigrants and women in construction who face similar harm but stay silent out of fear.
“In the current context of increasing authoritarianism and racism, it is urgent to recognize the systematic violations against women. It is urgent to fight for the rights of immigrant women and not allow the normalization of violence in any form,” said Patricia Montes, Executive Director of Centro Presente.
“No one should have to choose between their safety and their job. In today’s climate of growing anti-immigrant sentiment, women like Ms. Carbajal are fighting three fronts of injustice—sexism, racism, and xenophobia,” said Mirian Albert, Senior Attorney at LCR. “Employers who allow harassment to fester and fail to act are breaking the law. Accountability is long overdue in this industry, where turning a blind eye makes companies complicit in the abuse of immigrant workers and women.”
Even after Ms. Carbajal’s resignation, her coworkers at J. Derenzo confirmed that another woman hired after her was treated in the same manner, revealing a pattern of hostility, discrimination and inaction from company leaders.
“Women and immigrants, including hundreds of TPS recipients, are the backbone of the construction industry,” said Doris Landaverde, Coordinator of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National TPS Alliance. “But they continue to face barriers rooted in sexism and racism. It must stop now.”
The complaint is available here.