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Gucci faces $10 million sexual harassment lawsuit

A woman in another state claimed that her former male manager at a Gucci store harassed her sexually. She has thus decided to file a $10 million sexual harassment lawsuit against the fashion company. Sexual harassment is illegal, so employers in the Bay Area and elsewhere who engage in this type of behavior may be held liable through the civil court system.

In the out-of-state case, the female worker who filed the lawsuit asserted that her manager was flirtatious toward her when she started to work at the Gucci store in late 2014. She claimed that the manager’s overtures were not wanted or reciprocated. These overtures, however, allegedly became more gross with time.

The manger, for instance, allegedly commented on the woman’s body, including her buttocks, and made physical advances by trying to grope her, kiss her and grab her neck, head, butt and torso. The manager also reportedly exposed himself in front of her while in a storeroom. A supervisor then reportedly told the woman to simply brush the man off since there were no human resource staff members at the site. According to the suit, the manager during a job performance review told her that she would have earned better scores if she had given into the man’s advances. She eventually quit after going through a sexual harassment training that caused her to remember all of her alleged traumatic experiences.

Understandably, employees in the Bay Area do not have to accept undesired sexual advances in the workplace. It is illegal for companies to require workers to accept these advances in exchange for higher pay or promotions, for example. Those who face this type of sexual harassment reserve the right to file claims against their companies in particular circumstances. They may be able to receive back pay and related legal relief, depending on their situations.

Source: fashionista.com, “Gucci Sued for $10 Million by Ex-Store Employee for Sexual Harassment“, Dhani Mau, Oct. 4, 2017