Report: Apple Ignored and Retaliated Against Employees’ Complaining of Misconduct and Sexual Assault
A report by The Financial Times has been released about Apple’s toxic culture of apathy and retaliation against employees’ serious complaints of colleague and employer misconduct, including reports of sexual assault. In a company that boasts of its inclusiveness and its boost in diversity, these allegations cast a shadow on the company.
Multiple women have filed complaints of sexual abuse, bullying and other misconduct. Former employee Megan Mohr complained of a colleague removing her clothes while asleep and taking pictures of her during a platonic night out. In response, Apple HR described the allegations as “reprehensible” and “potentially criminal,” however because the employee did not violate Apple policy, nothing was done in response to Mohr’s complaint.
Another complaint involved an Apple Store employee complaining about two instances of sexual assault including rape. Instead of listening to her complaints, HR treated her as the problem saying that after the accused individual returned from a 6 month “career experience,” she should be feeling better by the time he returned. After she was denied a transfer request, she was left continuing work at the same store as the accused.
Another instance of HR ignoring its employees’ concerns was when an Apple IP attorney complained of a “toxic work environment” and “gaslighting” coming from a male vice-president who intended to fire her with false allegations that predated her arrival at Apple. HR reportedly ignored her allegations.
The report also lists several employees complaining of Apple suppressing worker organizing and blocking message boards used by employees to make complaints of management misconduct and pay inequity. Apple retaliated against one software engineer, Cher Scarlett, after complaining to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and had been offered a severance demanding she turn in the NLRB complaint that list other employees’ names. She only accepted after Apple withdrew the demand, but she was forced to pull the complaint. However, after Apple said “it supports employees’ rights to freely speak” to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Scarlett leaked her complaint to the media which led to eight US state treasurers to ask the SEC to investigate Apple.
A director in the legal department, Jayne Whitt, was reported to have told HR about a colleague who hacked her devices and threatened her life. Instead of taking it seriously, the investigative unit said she acted unprofessionally during their meeting during a time when Whitt was begging for help and reliving trauma. As a result, Whitt posted an essay describing the situation, which prompted an outpour of Apple employees’ support. However, Apple went on to fire her for an irrelevant six-year-old indiscretion, and Whitt now challenges Apple legally after she opened her eyes to the struggle of women in the company—especially with gender-pay disparity
Apple claims it thoroughly investigates misconduct allegations and strives to create an environment open to reporting from employees. However, Apple acknowledged its unmet ideals in some accounts, including those reported by The Financial Times, and admits these complaints should have been handled differently. Apple claims it will accordingly make changes to training and processes.
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NYC Bar Sweet & Vicious Owner Pays $500K To Staff In Sexual Harassment Case
The owner of Sweet & Vicious, a Manhattan-based bar, has agreed to pay a $500,000 settlement after sexually harassing and demeaning female and minority employees. According to filings made by New York Attorney General Letita James, Hakan Karamahmutoglu allegedly used sexist slurs such as “b–hes” and “cows,” he stole their tips, and allowed male managers and customers to threaten, and physically harass female staff.
The investigation of the allegations went on for 16 months and has concluded in a settlement to be split between 16 current and former workers.
The probe uncovered a hostile work culture where management turned their backs on customers harassing and physical threatening female bartenders. Management allowed customers to threaten stabbing, rape, physical assault, and allowed them to throw glasses at the women.
Investigations also revealed male managers being allowed to sexually harass the women. One male manger kissed and rubbed his body against one of the women and in another incident a manager made a sexual remark about a worker’s underwear.
During Interviews, the women told of the owner making harassing comments, touching and grabbing the employees, saying “I’m the owner, I can do what I want.” Additionally, he would use derogatory language in reference to the women and minority employees, saying things like “gangster” in reference to the black security guards, and calling a Puerto Rican manager a “terrorist” and “Puerto Rican trash.” He also told a female bartender “I like your fat black ass” and used homophobic slurs.
To make matters worse, the women were also made to work overtime without pay, their tips were stolen, and were denied meal and rest breaks. When a drunk customer threw a glass at a bartender’s head, the managers turned their backs. Anytime the women would raise concerns about the unsafe work environment, they were ignored.
In a press conference the women expressed how Hakan and the rest of management at the bar created a racist, sexist, and homophobic environment. One of them stated they were glad to hold the bar accountable and hoped it would discourage other like-minded employers in the industry from subjecting employees to similar harassment.
Karamahmutoglu denied all allegations saying they are untrue and do not reflect his character, stating that he only signed the agreement to bring closure to the whole thing. Along with the settlement, the company agreed to strengthen anti-sexual harassment and discrimination policies and be periodically monitored by the AG’s office.
The hospitality industry is riddled with a culture of unreported sexual harassment and discrimination. State law protects workers’ right to work in an environment free of sexual harassment, and the food service industry is no exception and cannot go unchecked.
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Sexual Harassment Complaints Ignored by Walgreens For a Year Leads to Murder of Teenager
A teenager who was found dead at a Colorado Springs Walgreens had allegedly made sexual harassment complaints about the man now accused in her death about a year before her death.
According to arrest papers, 16-year-old Riley Whitelaw had verbally complained to store managers in 2021 about coworker Joshua Johnson’s unwanted sexual advances towards her and how he made her uncomfortable.
One year after her sexual harassment complaint, Riley is found dead in the break room of the Walgreens she worked at. Johnson was taken into custody on charges of first-degree murder.
The arrest reports describe officers having found Riley’s body bloodied with neck injuries and no signs of life on the floor of the break room. Surveillance video showed Johnson stacking bins in front of the surveillance camera. The break room windows were also found taped over and the restroom-closed sign was in the area to keep people away. Riley’s body was found by the manager after he had viewed the surveillance. Johnson was arrested by state troopers the following day outside the city when they spotted him on the side of the interstate covered in cuts and bruises. He gave a story of being attacked at a Walgreens in Colorado Springs. When the troopers checked with Colorado Springs PD, they learned he was a suspect and was transported back to Colorado Springs where he’s being held without bond at El Paso County Jail.
In an interview, Johnson claims he went in the break room and fell in the blood and went home to change his clothes. He denied obstructing the camera and allegedly acknowledged having a crush on Riley at one point but then losing interest.
Police interviews state otherwise. One of the managers reported that Riley had asked for a schedule change to avoid Johnson and was showing signs of jealousy when Riley’s boyfriend started working.
Sexual harassment is prohibited under California and federal law. It is illegal for employers to allow anyone to be sexually harassed at work.
This is another reason why employers need to take immediate and strong corrective action when sexual harassment complaints are made. Had Riley’s complaints been taken seriously, she may still be alive.
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SNL Cast Members Named As Alleged Witnesses To Sexual Assault In Newest Statement By Victim
The Jane Doe plaintiff suing NBC and Horatio Sanz in a sexual assault case has made a new statement where she named several Saturday Night Live cast members as alleged witnesses to Sanz’s sexual assault of her. Amongst the named witnesses in the statement are Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, and Seth Meyers.
Jane Doe sued NBC and Sanz summer of 2021 alleging that Sanz had groomed her since she was 15 years old and he had groped her at a 2002 SNL afterparty. Doe was 17 years old at the time of the alleged assault. Doe recently made a statement in which she claimed that several cast members were within eyesight of the assault incident at the party.
Sanz had allegedly groped Doe in full view of his colleagues. Doe states that she and Ana Gasteyer made eye contact while Sanz groped her and Gasteyer was visibly startled in response. She also states that she saw Fey and Dratch looking at Sanz and Doe and were also visibly startled. Also named in her statement were Seth Meyers and Maya Rudolph who were facing them and Doe describes Rudolph looking disgusted.
In the statement, Doe states that she expressed her discomfort and desire to leave to Sanz but was dismissed by him despite the stares.
NBC denies liability for Sanz’s behavior, in their support of the company’s motion to dismiss the complaint. Sanz’s attorney also issued a denial last year, describing Doe’s allegations as false and claiming that Doe repeats her allegations and ropes in high-profile names to generate media attention.
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U.K. Court Rules Term “Bald” is Form of Sexual Harassment
A panel of three judges in the U.K. have ruled that insulting a man for being bald in the workplace can be a form of sexual harassment.
The tribunal, who are all balding themselves, argued that because hair loss is far more prevalent in the male sex than female, the term is then inherently related to sex/gender. So a comment on a man’s hair loss is equivalent to commenting on a woman’s breasts.
This ruling came about in a case of an electrician, Tony Finn, who sued a West Yorkshire-based small business over the use of the term “bald” after one of his supervisors allegedly called him a “fat bald c—” and was later fired.
The judges were then left to deliberate on whether the “bald” comment was simply insulting or if it meets the criteria to be considered harassment. They connected “bald” to the protected characteristic of sex and found it inherently related to sex. And argued that while both men and women bald, baldness is more prevalent in men than women. With this they stated that men like Finn would be most likely to be receiving such a comment.
The finding also added that the remark was degrading and humiliating. Though strong language is common on West Yorkshire factory floors, it was judged that the remark crossed a line by making a personal attack on Finn’s appearance. Therefore, the comment was made with the purpose of violating Finn’s dignity and creating a hostile work environment.
The tribunal upheld the sexual harassment claim and ruled the company unfairly terminated him after 24 years of employment.
Remember, this was one court in England. Under California and U.S. law, gender based or sexual harassment has to be either “severe or pervasive”. So, under American law, a one-time comment of “bald” is extremely unlikely to be “severe” enough to be actionable sexual harassment.
What do you think of the U.K. Court’s reasoning?
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2018 Sexual Harassment Settlement Against Elon Musk Comes to Light
Details have been released about a $250,000 settlement that SpaceX paid to quiet a sexual harassment claim against Elon Musk in 2018.
The flight attendant was contracted on SpaceX’s corporate jet. She accused Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, of exposing himself to her, rubbing her leg without his consent, and offering to buy her a horse in exchange for an erotic massage.
The 2016 incident was supported by a declaration made by a friend of the attendant and in email correspondence.
According to the declaration, the attendant confided to her friend that after taking the SpaceX job, she was encouraged to get licensed as a masseuse so she could give Musk massages and get to fly more often. She told her friend that Musk had propositioned her during one such massage on Musk’s Gulfstream Jet.
In the declaration, the flight attendant tells her friend that during a massage on a flight to London, Musk, who was only wearing a sheet covering his lower body, exposed his genitals, touched her thigh and offered to buy her a horse if she would “do more,” referring to sex acts. The attendant declined. The friend described the attendant as distraught, visibly upset, and full of anxiety when she told her about the incident.
After the incident, the flight attendant felt that she was retaliated against as her shifts were cut. She felt she was being punished for refusing to prostitute herself.
In 2018, the flight attendant hired an employment lawyer. The complaint was settled for $250,000 in exchange for a promise to not sue over the claims. The agreement included a non-disclosure and non-disparagement clause.
The attendant’s friend was the one who decided to come forward about what she was told about Musk. Unlike the flight attendant, she was not bound by a non-disclosure agreement. As a survivor of sexual assault, she felt a responsibility to bring Musk’s misconduct to light. This friend felt it was important for her to speak up in order to not let predators go without accountability, especially wealthy and powerful individuals like Musk, who can cover up their wrongdoings by throwing money at it.
Non-disclosure agreements are crucial components of the system that allows for this lack of accountability. Later in 2018, just months after the flight attendant signed her agreement, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the “Stand Against Non-Disclosure Act” which bars the use of NDAs in sexual harassment/assault settlements going forward.
The flight attendant’s allegation is the only known misconduct claim against Musk himself; however, both his companies have faced a number of allegations of sexual harassment.
Musk has responded saying that the timing of the story is politically motivated.
The flight attendant’s friend hopes her publication of Musk’s misconduct inspires others who were mistreated by Musk to come forward.
Do you think Elon Musk committed sexual harassment? Do you think the flight attendant’s friend purposely chose to hold back coming forward until now?
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Video Game Giant Activision Blizzard Settles On $18 Million To Victims Of Sexual Harassment And Discrimination
Activision Blizzard, a video game company giant, has agreed to settle a workplace discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The company will pay $18 Million and individuals who were employed after September 2016 that have a harassment, discrimination, or retaliation claim will be eligible at a piece of the settlement.
The EEOC filed the discrimination lawsuit after a three-year investigation initiated by several harassment, discrimination, and retaliation complaints by Activision employees. It found that the company failed to take corrective and preventative measures on sexual misconduct complaints.
The DFEH alleged that Blizzard Entertainment had a pervasive “frat boy” culture where employees, under management’s instruction, would drunkenly go around the workplace harassing and groping female employees. On top of the rampant pay discrimination, victims of such harassment were punished when they spoke up against the unwanted behavior.
Throughout the investigations it was uncovered that Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO, knew for years about the sexual harassment complaints, including alleged rapes, but did not inform the board of directors, even after investigations began in 2018. It wasn’t until September 2021, when he was subpoenaed that the reports of misconduct were disclosed. Afterwards, Activision issued a press release in which they stated that they continue to quickly work at addressing and resolving workplace issues.
Several employees filed sexual harassment lawsuits against Activision. These employees describe a culture of sexual harassment and assault at the company. One current employee disclosed that she was subjected to frequent sexual advances, and another employee was subjected to sexual harassment, battery, and assault by management. When employees spoke up or tried to speak up, they were reprimanded, ridiculed, threatened with retaliation or told that human resources was not going to help. These victims demand from Blizzard an increased settlement amount in excess of $100M as an acceptable apology for the damage endured.
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Mishandling Of Sexual Harassment Allegations Lead To Firing Of Several CVS Executives
An internal investigation found that several executives at CVS botched the handling of sexual harassment allegations. These findings prompted CVS CEO Karen Lynch to fire several executives and overhaul the company’s sexual harassment policy.
Ms. Lynch took over as CEO in February 2021 for CVS making it the largest company by revenue to be run by a female CEO. Lynch made the changes to personnel after learning of complaints about a New Jersey regional manager who was allegedly harassing and inappropriately touching at least two female employees at work.
Lynch personally oversaw the investigation into allegations against the manager. In January, when investigations concluded, Lynch ordered his dismissal as well as several of the manager’s superiors for failing to treat sexual harassment allegations with the seriousness they deserve.
The removal included an executive who supervised the regional manager and a human-resources executive, while a third executive left the company during the investigation.
Lynch then informed about 450 senior leaders at the company of the decision and revealed plans to create an office for CVS that would offer its employees a confidential channel through which they can bring complaints of harassment.
In a later memo, Ms. Lynch made clear that the company does not tolerate harassment or hostile behaviors regardless of position and will not tolerate inaction from those responsible of escalating concerns. She points out efforts to improve internal reporting, investigation, and the creation of a confidential channel for concerns. And allures to a review of procedures in the company’s human resources, legal department, and arbitration.
Do you think CVS is actually taking sexual harassment seriously now?
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Former Back-Up Dancer Sues Snoop Dogg for Sexual Assault
A woman (Jane Doe) filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court on February 9, 2022 accusing Snoop Dogg and Bishop Don ‘Magic’ Juan of sexual assault. The woman is described as a dancer, model and actress, and said to have regularly worked on-stage with the rapper. The alleged incident happened after the woman attended a Snoop Dogg concert in May 2013, nearly nine years ago.
The lawsuit alleges:
1/ Following the concert, Jane Doe and a friend agreed to go to Snoop Dogg’s studio with him and his friend Donald Campbell.
2/ She asked to be taken home after an offer by Campbell, but Campbell drove her to his residence after she fell asleep in the car.
3/Jane Doe fell asleep at Campbell’s home and was awaken around 4 a.m. to Campbell forcing her to perform oral sex on him.
4/ Campbell urged her to accompany him to a Snoop Dogg taping, calling it a “career move” for her.
5/While at the taping, Snoop Dogg followed her to the bathroom where he forced her to perform oral sex and masturbated in front of her.
Jane Doe alleges she felt pressure from Snoop Dogg due to his position of power, ability to fire her, and ability to ensure she never be hired in the industry again. Her attorney explained that Jane Doe speaks now because she “refuses to be silenced and intimidated any longer” and hopes to inspire other victims to understand they have rights and do not have to be silenced forever.
A spokesperson for Snoop Dogg has denied the sexual assault allegations and denies she ever worked for him.
According to the filing, the woman attempted private mediation with no success. The lawsuit alleges that Snoop Dogg retaliated against her following the mediation by posting on Instagram that it was “gold digger season.” The post does not name any particular person.
California’s laws on sexual assault have changed recently to extend the statutes of limitations for civil claims.
Do you think the long delay in bringing the claims will negatively effect Plaintiff’s claims?
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“King of Comedy” Jerry Lewis Under Fire for Sexual Harassment and Assault
Several actresses have accused comedian Jerry Lewis of sexual harassment and sexual assault. These claims were brought to light during interviews led by investigative film-makers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick.
While investigating countless abuse allegations from Hollywood, the film-makers discovered that many of Lewis’ former co-stars had unsettling claims about the comedian. The film-makers had several sit-down conversations with the actresses and turned them into a feature and short film for the “Hollywood Issue.”
Actresses that will be included in the short are: Hope Holiday (The Ladies Man), Jill St. John (Who’s Minding the Store?), Anna Maria Alberghetti (Cinderfella), Karen Sharpe (The Disorderly Orderly), Renée Taylor, vocalist Lainie Kazan, and several others. While all disturbing, Sharpe and Holiday’s are most severe.
Karen Sharpe alleges that Jerry Lewis attacked her in his office. She claimed that Lewis grabbed her, then attempted to fondle her, and began to take off his pants. Sharpe fought him off but then had to deal with a toxic filming environment as Lewis gave orders to the crew to not speak or rehearse with her.
Hope Holiday alleges that Lewis had locked her in his dressing room, then proceeded to “talk dirty” and masturbate. Holiday was torn about reporting the actor after the events because she had a signed contract with Lewis and the studio.
These allegations brought forth by Lewis’ co-stars add to the #MeToo movement’s focus on shining a spotlight on the misconduct in Hollywood and bringing abusers like Jerry Lewis out of cover.
What do you think of these allegations?
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