http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/news/0308...rrassment.html

Colma Auto Dealership Employees File Sexual Harrassment Lawsuit
Mar. 8 (BCN) — A federal lawsuit filed today alleges that female employees of a Lexus dealership in Colma were subjected to a sexually hostile work environment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on behalf of former Internet sales representative Anne Wei and other female employees, alleges that Lexus of Serramonte subjected women to touching, grabbing, slapping, offensive language, and other physical and verbal abuse, according to the commission. The suit seeks monetary damages and other measures to remedy the alleged harassment.

Wei began working for the dealership in December 2001 and alleges that soon after she was hired, she became the target of daily offensive comments about her body and appearance and frequent touching and solicitations for sex by male managers, the commission reported.

According to the commission, Wei had her buttocks slapped, her waistband pulled, and her skirt pulled down in front of a customer.

The harassment allegedly continued for months despite her complaints to management, and because of it Wei's health deteriorated, forcing her to leave work, according to the commission.

The suit alleges that other women at the dealership were also targets of similar harassment.

Keith Katz, general manager of Lexus of Serramonte, and a representative of parent company Sonic Automotive Inc. were unaware of the suit and unable to comment on it when contacted today.

 

While this is the first lawsuit of this type I have heard about at this level in the Lexus organization, sexual-harassment lawsuits are not new to the auto industry in general by any means. There was a massive sexual-harassment suit a few years ago at the Mitsubishi / Dodge / Chrysler Diamond-Star plant in Normal, IL....a notoriously poorly-run place that has had almost every kind of factory and personnel problem imaginable. Mitsubishi, who actually runs the plant....settled for quite a large amount.

Lexus institutions and dealerships, though, tend to be highly professional in nature.
To manhandle a female salesperson....who is considered a professional herself......and pull down her skirt in front of Lexus customers to me seems difficult to believe at a Lexus dealership. Behavior like this...especially in front of customers.... would even be stretching it at a Mitsubishi dealership, whose standards are far lower than those of Lexus.

Just an aside note: Try this crap with some women and you will get a face full of pepper-spray or mace.

 

Actually, I know of a girl that get harassed badly by her male co-works because of her appearance at the nearby Lexus dealer.

 

It's sad because this can happen anywhere and a few bad seeds can ruin an image for a whole company. We know that no auto company is a bunch of womanizers but idiots like these aren't just tarnishing their rep, it's the whole dealership and company who suffer as well.

James

 

that's very low man..... sux.....

 

Was she wearing mini-skirts? While, of course, that alone does not excuse sexual harassment, mini-skirts and low-cut tops are a classic set-up for it.

 

Thats really to bad, and also quite sad as no women deserved to be treated like that and I hope those at that dealership will be held responsible for their conduct and appropriate actions are taken.
I will say this though we all have a personal responsibility when it comes to our appearance in public. Its a wide open world with many different types of people (animal like people) in it. This is something females can not afford to ignore hence the SF dealer situation.

Its like my Aunt always told me, If you're always teasing dogs you'll soon get bit.

 

i do agree that this kind of behavior is unacceptable and should be handled accordingly.

however, i must agree with mmarshall that i do not expect this kind of behavior at a professional place of business like a Lexus dealership. It just does not make sense. When i read that, immediately i thought of some grade schoolers picking on the girl that they like. I just can't believe something like that went on in a place like that.

I'm not saying that the woman was lying, but maybe we should look at both sides of the story before we lean sides. She just might be working the dealership and the suit if you know what i mean. The manager had no idea what she was talking about and had no idea of the suit before the news started to question him. Or that's what he says. But it'll be interesting how this turns out.

 

Lexus shops in particular are supposed to be professional.
This is going to be a very interesting case. It could...but not likely.....lead to a change of dealer management, ownership, or even a suspension of the Lexus franchise....and with that I'll stop guessing and just wait and see what happens.

 

Yeah, theres just so much we don't know in order to say for sure what happened and how it went down, if it did. BUT just because this story involves a professional location such as a Lexus dealership doesn't mean it can't happen, a Lexus dealership is just as vulnerable of having such things happen in one of its sites as any other dealership, or professional coorporate office for that matter, any place of employment is susceptible to such things no establishment is exempt, just maybe that was the womens mistake. "It could never happen here this is Lexus". (just a thought)

 

"Lexus institutions and dealerships, though, tend to be highly professional in nature"---You seem to imply that the employees at Lexus are close to diety. Come on man they are humans and humans do have faults; even those at Lexus dealerships!!!!!
You have to be one of the most biased people I have ever encountered. Just my 2 cents.

 

Of couse Lexus employees are human. I never suggested otherwise. It is a fact, though, not an opinion, that a Lexus dealership is considered a highly professional place. Saying that does not make me biased...it is only stating a fact. And Longo Lexus....some distance away from this one but in the same state (CA) is one of the most professional of them all.

I myself am human....but that does not make me any less of a professional. I have received awards on my job.

 

I wouldn't be suprised if this really happened at a Lexus dealer. Lexus sales staff might be more professional than others on average. But "some" of them still act like blood-sucking axxholes. I have encountered a few of these trashy salesmen at several Lexus dealers over the years. The worst was at Pxxxxxx Lexus in northern Vriginia; followed by Hxxxxxx Lexus in Charlotte, NC,; and then a salesman named 'Osama' at Lexus of Rxxxxxxd, VA. If her allegations are true then the ppl involved should be punished accordingly and the dealer should be suspended of its franchise IMO. I don't mean to offend any Lexus personnel, becasue there are plenty of them that are highly professional and respectable. It just angers me that even Lexus hires these low life trash.

 

Interesting you mention Pohanka. That is where I bought my IS. Pohanka is actually a very good dealership that is just hampered by a set of unnecessarily rigid beaureaucratic and military-like rules from the top on down. It just needs to be run a little more loosely, that's all.

Dave doesn't want us using dealership names negatively on the forum here, but I think I know the person you are referring to.....who is now gone.

 

I didn't know that. I have X'ed out the dealer names.