Here is the recently-filed complaint, captioned Pako Mikel and Denise Klerx v. Guerlain, Inc. (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cty., Sept. 25, 2014), Index No. 159425-2014, alleging sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation against French cosmetic company Guerlain Inc. Plaintiffs allege that they were sexually harassed by another employee, and that defendant didn’t do anything to…
Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against GuerlainCafe Lalo, the Upper West Side cafe featured in the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan romantic comedy “You’ve Got Mail” has been sued for wage violations and sexual harassment. Here’s the complaint. The plaintiffs, several women, allege (among other things) that defendant Daniel Reyes, a “barista and defacto manager … treated the restaurant as his own personal dating…
Read More “You’ve Got Mail” Cafe Sued for Sexual Harassment and Wage ViolationsBy now you may have read the open letter by SoHo bartender Laura Ramadei to customer/hedge funder Brian Lederman, chronicling an unpleasant encounter in which Lederman allegedly groped Ms. Ramadei while she was waiting on him and then left her a paltry tip because she rejected his amorous advances. Here’s the Gothamist article about the incident.…
Read More Sexual Harassment by Non-Employee Customers, Clients, and PatronsHere is the federal lawsuit recently filed by waitress Alexandra Mitropoulous against Avlee Greek Kitchen and its owner, Peter Rogakos. Plaintiff alleges, that she was constructively discharged after being subjected to sexual harassment and battery. For example, she alleges that Rogakos asked her what color underwear she was wearing, pulled her hair, and tried to kiss…
Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Avlee Greek Kitchen and Peter RogakosIn Lee v. Woori Bank (decided Aug. 21, 2014), the New York Supreme Court held that plaintiff adequately pleaded a negligent hiring and retention claim. In this case, plaintiffs asserted claims for retaliation, battery, negligence, and sexual harassment. Specifically, they alleged that Mr. Yoo, along with five other managers and executives from Korea, consistently used foul…
Read More Negligent Hiring and Retention Claims Continue Against Korean BankHere is the federal court complaint recently filed by former UBS intern Samantha Lambui against UBS, James Collins, and others. She alleges, among other things, that Collins made unwelcome advances, including offering a designer handbag in exchange for sex and trying to kiss her.
Read More Intern’s Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against UBSHere’s yet another reason not to engage in sexual activity with subordinates. In Scholem v. Acadia Realty Ltd. Partnership (decided August 7, 2014), the court held that an employer established, as a matter of law, that it fired plaintiff (its former Senior Vice President-Director of Property Management) for “cause” after he engaged in sexual relations with…
Read More Sex With Assistant Results in Termination for “Cause” and Denial of Severance BenefitsAccording to various reports (for example, from Buzzfeed and Time), dating company start-up Tinder and its parent company recently settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by co-founder Whitney Wolfe. In her California state court complaint filed earlier this year, Ms. Wolfe alleged (for example) that the conduct of Tinder’s senior executives “represent[ed] the worst of the misogynist,…
Read More Tinder Settles Sexual Harassment LawsuitHere is the complaint filed on September 3, 2014 by Danny Yoo against The New York Palace Hotel and Michael Richard. Plaintiff alleges, among other things, that after Richard noticed a bubble on an eclair plaintiff had worked on, Richard approached plaintiff “and all of a sudden began tapping [plaintiff]’s chin and lips repeatedly with…
Read More Danny Yoo’s Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against The New York Palace Hotel and Michael RichardIn Valleriani v. Route 390 Nissan (filed Sept. 2, 2014), the Western District of New York denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s gender-based hostile work environment claim: [T]o constitute gender discrimination in the form of a hostile work environment, the conduct directed at Plaintiff had to be based on her gender. Here, the incidents…
Read More Content, Rather Than Motivation, for Sexually Offensive Language is Relevant in Hostile Work Environment Case, According to Court