The two foundations are accused of covering up Chavez’s sexual harassment, grooming, abuse and assault of women at compound in Kern County near the Bakersfield area, the lawsuit says.
FRESNO, Calif., Sept. 9, 2026 — Leadership at the Cesar Chavez Foundation and the United Farm Workers (UFW) Foundation allowed the labor union and civil rights icon to freely target women for sexual abuse, including the 1973 rape of a volunteer who lived with her husband and children at the movement’s compound, according to a new lawsuit filed in Kern County Superior Court.
The woman, identified only as Jane Doe in the Sept. 1 complaint, began volunteering with Central Valley union organizing efforts while in college during the late 1950s and early 1960s, after experiencing the poor treatment of farm workers while working in fruit sheds in Northern California during a summer break.
She met Chavez after graduation, when she moved to the Central Valley to support the grape workers’ strike, and began working for UFW through 1983, according to the complaint. Doe, her husband and children in 1970 moved into a compound acquired by UFW in the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains, east of Bakersfield.
It was while she lived with her family at the compound, Nuestra Senora Reina De La Paz, that she was assaulted by Chavez, according to the lawsuit.
In spring 1973, Doe attended a celebration at La Paz. At the party, Chavez pushed alcohol on her and danced with her, the lawsuit states.
“(Doe) felt uncomfortable and went into a bathroom to hide for a while,” the lawsuit states. “Shortly thereafter, upon returning and entering her house, Chavez summoned (Doe) to a room within her house. Inside the room, Chavez pulled (Doe) onto the bed and raped her.” About three or four years later, the lawsuit continues, Chavez called Doe to his house and wound up forcibly pulling Doe’s head down to his crotch.
Doe “actively avoided interactions with Chavez as best as possible and reserved interactions with him to board meetings or other situations in which interaction was unavoidable,” the lawsuit states.
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Chavez’s treatment of women, including sexual harassment, grooming, abuse and assault, was an open secret, the lawsuit continues. “Employees and others there within UFW were aware of the abuse but failed to respond to this knowledge in any manner. Instead, despite this knowledge, the UFW employees ensured that any abuse was done in closed quarters, outside of visibility of others,” the lawsuit states.
Doe’s lawsuit accuses both the UFW Foundation and the Cesar Chavez Foundation “made concerted efforts to hide evidence relating to sexual harassment and sexual assaults of girls and women by UFW members and leaders, including Cesar Chavez, in an effort to incentivize survivors to remain silent or prevent information relating to such wrongdoing from becoming public.”
Doe, who is now 86-years-old, filed her lawsuit under Assembly Bill 250, a California law that on Jan. 1, 2026 reopened a two-year window for survivors of sexual assault to file claims that had previously expired. The trauma of the sexual assaults resulted in her suffering decades from depression, anger, emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, alcohol dependency and ongoing therapy.
“Too often, institutions entrusted with the livelihoods of others abuse their power. That harm is compounded when wrongdoers are protected and corrupt systems silence those who have been harmed,” said veteran sexual assault attorney, Mike Arias. “These cases expose injustices that have been ignored, disregarded, or hidden. No matter how much time has passed, seeking justice can create accountability and give others the courage to come forward.”
“There is no movement and no cause that justifies sexual abuse as a price to pay for being part of it,” said civil rights attorney V. James DeSimone. “Our client is coming forward after all these years to help make sure that the current and future generations of leaders understand that they are not above the law.”
Representing Doe are Arias, Sahar Malek and Nia Gamble of Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team LLP, of Los Angeles; and DeSimone and Ryann Hall of V. James DeSimone Law, of Marina del Rey.
Jane Doe v. Cesar Chavez Foundation et al., (Case No. 26CUB03446) was filed Sept. 1, 2026, in Kern County Superior Court.
