Bank Executive Alleges Retaliation After She Complained To Employer About Business Trip Sexual Assault

Now that the return to the office is in full swing after several years of remote work, office employees are realizing how much they missed the human interaction.  In the old days, we used to complain about watercooler gossip, but it beats endless hours of doom scrolling or staring at your own face on a Zoom camera hands down.  We even appreciate the commute; it’s hard to let the rude drivers get on your nerves now that you have realized that this is the precious time where you get to unwind with a playlist or a podcast in between dealing with your work responsibilities and dealing with your family responsibilities.  As much as you might find joy in the little annoyances at work, no one misses the boozy retreats where coworkers who sometimes behave inappropriately at work had free rein to behave their worst.  One of the last business trips gone wrong before the COVID-19 pandemic= is now at the center of an employer retaliation lawsuit because of the way the employer responded when an employee reported a sexual assault.  If your employer punished you for reporting sexual harassment or sexual assault that occurred during an overnight trip for work, contact a Los Angeles retaliation lawyer.

Employer Refused Plaintiff’s Requests to Investigate Sexual Misconduct

The plaintiff in a pending lawsuit worked in an executive position at a bank in the Los Angeles area beginning in 2018.  One of the employees to whom she reported was an investment strategist; he sometimes made flirtatious comments about her appearance, which made her uncomfortable.  At several work-related events outside the office, the investment strategist tried to touch the plaintiff in ways that romantic partners would do, but not coworkers, but she always pushed his hand away.

In January 2020, the plaintiff and several male coworkers, including the investment strategist, traveled to Bakersfield to meet with clients.  After the meeting, the employees dined and drank together.  When the plaintiff left the table to go to the bathroom, leaving behind her phone and drink, the coworkers used the plaintiff’s phone to take obscene selfies, and they may have spiked her drink.

That night, the investment manager knocked on the door of the plaintiff’s hotel room.  She opened the door, and he barged in.  She remembered that he kissed her, but that was almost the only thing she remembered.  In the morning, the investment strategist confessed to the plaintiff that they had had unprotected sex.

When the plaintiff complained to her employer’s human resources, they refused to investigate, and the work environment grew more and more hostile until the plaintiff resigned in 2021.  She later complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity Council (EEOC), and the case is ongoing.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employer Retaliation Lawyer

A Los Angeles employment discrimination lawyer can help you if your employer ignored you or worse when you reported egregious misconduct at your workplace.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Los Angeles, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

Source:

hcamag.com/us/specialization/employment-law/ex-wells-fargo-exec-claims-company-failed-to-protect-her-from-sexual-assault/435868