Former Country Club Employee Sues Employer After Enduring Sexual Harassment at Work

Most employment discrimination lawsuits name an entire company, nonprofit organization, or public sector employer instead of or in addition to an individual coworker.  In some cases, an adversarial relationship with a particular supervisor or bullying by a particular coworker is at the root of the employment discrimination case, but more often, it takes more than two to make a hostile work environment.  Many workers, in their initial meetings with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), describe a long series of efforts to get management or human resources to intervene in the harassment they are experiencing from one or a small group of coworkers, only to be met with inaction or retaliatory adverse actions.  Worse, and often times, employers retaliate against you for complaining to your work supervisors or to human resources about customers sexually harassing you.  If sexual harassment by customers contributed to a hostile environment at your workplace, and if your employer retaliated against you for complaining about it, contact a Los Angeles discrimination and harassment lawyer.

Is It Employment Discrimination If the Sexual Harassment Comes From Customers?

Everyone in Los Angeles knows that the drunker the customer base, the better the job pays.  Bartenders andservers who work the midnight shift at 24-hour diners, and rideshare drivers who work in nightlife districts during the hour when the bars and clubs close make more money than their counterparts who provide food and transportation to sober folks.  Drunk customers are tolerable, though; it is the combination of drunkenness and entitlement that makes for truly unpleasant working conditions.  Based on this logic, working at a country club in Los Angeles may be the worst job in the world.

The plaintiff in a recently filed lawsuit began working for a country club in 2019, when she was 23.  Her role as beverage cart attendant involved serving drinks, including alcoholic beverages, to country club members on the golf course while they played golf.  She frequently experienced unwanted sexual advances, including touching by customers.  To make matters worse, her work supervisors pressured her to drink alcohol with the club members during her shifts.  When she complained about it to her supervisors, they told her that, because the club members pay so much money to belong to the club, they should be able to do what they want.

In early 2023, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit in Orange County against the country club and its parent company, which is based in Texas.  She requested $15 million in damages for sexual harassment, sex discrimination, retaliation, and wage and hour related complaints.  News sources did not offer any additional information about the case; most employment discrimination cases result in a settlement without going to trial.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination lawyer can help you if your employer retaliated against you for refusing to tolerate mistreatment by customers.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Los Angeles, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Source:

patch.com/california/losalamitos/former-employee-sues-seal-beach-golf-club-alleges-sexual-misconduct