Lexus dealer settles sex harassment suit.
01-24-07, 11:36 AM
#1
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Lexus dealer settles sex harassment suit.
Check this out! http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...ABADIGEST2.DTL
I happen to know the girl mentioned. If they treat their employees like that, how would you think they would treat their clients.
Here is the article from Sfgate if you preferr not to go to the link above.
Lexus of Serramonte has agreed to pay $375,000 to settle a sexual harassment suit alleging that young female employees were slapped on the buttocks and propositioned by managers and that one's skirt was pulled down in front of a customer, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday.
The settlement, approved Monday by a federal judge in Oakland, resolved a suit that the agency filed against the Colma auto dealer in March 2005. At least five women will share in the damages, and the company also agreed to revise its anti-harassment policies and training, the EEOC said.
The lead plaintiff, Annie Wei, alleged that she was harassed daily after joining the sales department in December 2001 and was forced to quit in November 2002 after her complaints were disregarded. She said that she was pawed and subjected to repeated sexual comments and propositions and that she was also advised by a manager to "show more chest'' during sales pitches.
On one occasion, Wei said, a manager pulled her skirt down while she was talking to a customer, who left in embarrassment. The EEOC said the harassment of other employees continued at least until the time of the lawsuit in 2005.
William Tamayo, EEOC's regional attorney in San Francisco, commended "the bravery of these young women for coming forward."
"The alleged harassment in this case demonstrates a gross abuse of power where older male management preyed on female subordinates," he said.
Lexus of Serramonte denied wrongdoing. Neither the dealer nor its parent company, North Carolina-based Sonic Automotive, was available for comment.
I happen to know the girl mentioned. If they treat their employees like that, how would you think they would treat their clients.
Here is the article from Sfgate if you preferr not to go to the link above.
Lexus of Serramonte has agreed to pay $375,000 to settle a sexual harassment suit alleging that young female employees were slapped on the buttocks and propositioned by managers and that one's skirt was pulled down in front of a customer, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday.
The settlement, approved Monday by a federal judge in Oakland, resolved a suit that the agency filed against the Colma auto dealer in March 2005. At least five women will share in the damages, and the company also agreed to revise its anti-harassment policies and training, the EEOC said.
The lead plaintiff, Annie Wei, alleged that she was harassed daily after joining the sales department in December 2001 and was forced to quit in November 2002 after her complaints were disregarded. She said that she was pawed and subjected to repeated sexual comments and propositions and that she was also advised by a manager to "show more chest'' during sales pitches.
On one occasion, Wei said, a manager pulled her skirt down while she was talking to a customer, who left in embarrassment. The EEOC said the harassment of other employees continued at least until the time of the lawsuit in 2005.
William Tamayo, EEOC's regional attorney in San Francisco, commended "the bravery of these young women for coming forward."
"The alleged harassment in this case demonstrates a gross abuse of power where older male management preyed on female subordinates," he said.
Lexus of Serramonte denied wrongdoing. Neither the dealer nor its parent company, North Carolina-based Sonic Automotive, was available for comment.
01-26-07, 12:23 AM
#2
Lexus Champion
Check this out! http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...ABADIGEST2.DTL
I happen to know the girl mentioned. If they treat their employees like that, how would you think they would treat their clients.
Here is the article from Sfgate if you preferr not to go to the link above.
Lexus of Serramonte has agreed to pay $375,000 to settle a sexual harassment suit alleging that young female employees were slapped on the buttocks and propositioned by managers and that one's skirt was pulled down in front of a customer, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday.
The settlement, approved Monday by a federal judge in Oakland, resolved a suit that the agency filed against the Colma auto dealer in March 2005. At least five women will share in the damages, and the company also agreed to revise its anti-harassment policies and training, the EEOC said.
The lead plaintiff, Annie Wei, alleged that she was harassed daily after joining the sales department in December 2001 and was forced to quit in November 2002 after her complaints were disregarded. She said that she was pawed and subjected to repeated sexual comments and propositions and that she was also advised by a manager to "show more chest'' during sales pitches.
On one occasion, Wei said, a manager pulled her skirt down while she was talking to a customer, who left in embarrassment. The EEOC said the harassment of other employees continued at least until the time of the lawsuit in 2005.
William Tamayo, EEOC's regional attorney in San Francisco, commended "the bravery of these young women for coming forward."
"The alleged harassment in this case demonstrates a gross abuse of power where older male management preyed on female subordinates," he said.
Lexus of Serramonte denied wrongdoing. Neither the dealer nor its parent company, North Carolina-based Sonic Automotive, was available for comment.
I happen to know the girl mentioned. If they treat their employees like that, how would you think they would treat their clients.
Here is the article from Sfgate if you preferr not to go to the link above.
Lexus of Serramonte has agreed to pay $375,000 to settle a sexual harassment suit alleging that young female employees were slapped on the buttocks and propositioned by managers and that one's skirt was pulled down in front of a customer, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday.
The settlement, approved Monday by a federal judge in Oakland, resolved a suit that the agency filed against the Colma auto dealer in March 2005. At least five women will share in the damages, and the company also agreed to revise its anti-harassment policies and training, the EEOC said.
The lead plaintiff, Annie Wei, alleged that she was harassed daily after joining the sales department in December 2001 and was forced to quit in November 2002 after her complaints were disregarded. She said that she was pawed and subjected to repeated sexual comments and propositions and that she was also advised by a manager to "show more chest'' during sales pitches.
On one occasion, Wei said, a manager pulled her skirt down while she was talking to a customer, who left in embarrassment. The EEOC said the harassment of other employees continued at least until the time of the lawsuit in 2005.
William Tamayo, EEOC's regional attorney in San Francisco, commended "the bravery of these young women for coming forward."
"The alleged harassment in this case demonstrates a gross abuse of power where older male management preyed on female subordinates," he said.
Lexus of Serramonte denied wrongdoing. Neither the dealer nor its parent company, North Carolina-based Sonic Automotive, was available for comment.
02-11-07, 06:19 AM
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Kind of puts me off to going to that dealership now. I was about to go there next week and see if they had any used GS300s. Nevermind though. I'd rather travel to the east or south bay now if thats how they treat employees. Especially women employees it makes me sick. I can be an *** and say stupid things but to harass someone and humiliate them is intolerable. Good hear that the women had the courage to come forward. It probably was a very difficult and embarrassing to have to speak about it in court.
02-11-07, 01:38 PM
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wait...did anyone say that it was true? i dont think so. I go to that dealer and i will continue to. Just because a few workers may or may not have harrased the woman, that doesnt mean all of them are bad people there. There are bad people everywhere, you cant avoid them, good thing there are good ones as well.
I think some of the stuff may have been exagerated. Lexus just doesnt want that unwanted publicity, so they paid. just my perspective.
where is this customer who witnessed this skirt being pulled down?...would the workers really be that brave to do it infront of people?
just fyi, i do not condone female harrassment, but im just trying to make sure it was true
I think some of the stuff may have been exagerated. Lexus just doesnt want that unwanted publicity, so they paid. just my perspective.
where is this customer who witnessed this skirt being pulled down?...would the workers really be that brave to do it infront of people?
just fyi, i do not condone female harrassment, but im just trying to make sure it was true
Last edited by RXSF; 02-11-07 at 01:43 PM.
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02-13-07, 04:09 AM
#8
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If it had no merit, they would not have paid anything. Something happened there, and it was enough for their attorneys to recommend settling for $375k. That's an awful lot of car deals.
02-13-07, 05:52 PM
#9
i go to lexus of serramonte too and will continue to do so. i have heard nothing but good from them so far. you can't always believe what the media says... they call this kind of stuff NEWS? NEWS stands for NORTH, EAST, WEST, SOUTH coverage. this kind of stuff is ENTERTAINMENT!
02-22-07, 11:09 AM
#10
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i go to lexus of serramonte too and will continue to do so. i have heard nothing but good from them so far. you can't always believe what the media says... they call this kind of stuff NEWS? NEWS stands for NORTH, EAST, WEST, SOUTH coverage. this kind of stuff is ENTERTAINMENT!
Do you think it was entertaining for the people that got harrassed?
02-22-07, 05:05 PM
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I go to Lexus of Serramonte and asked a guy I know there about this whole deal and he says this stuff took place about 5 years ago and that none of the employees directly involved work at the dealership anymore.
I'm just thinking that the current crew shouldn't have to pay for the misbehavior of a couple ex-employees. I get the impression that something inappropriate did occur and that's not kool at all but as far as I'm concerned it's history.
I'm just thinking that the current crew shouldn't have to pay for the misbehavior of a couple ex-employees. I get the impression that something inappropriate did occur and that's not kool at all but as far as I'm concerned it's history.
02-22-07, 05:41 PM
#12
02-22-07, 05:51 PM
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I think your wife / girlfriend / mother / daughter should get a job there. We can check back in six months then to make sure your position hasn't changed and hope they really solved the problem.
02-22-07, 07:46 PM
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I've worked at 3 Los Angeles area Lexus dealerships and have experienced inappropriate behavior at 2 out of the 3. In a male dominated enviroment it still happens more often than not - unfortunate in this day and age.
One manager patted my butt. I did a good job on a project and said to him "Pat me on the back". I turned my shoulder into him and instead of patting my shoulder he patted my ***! (I told him if he ever touched me again I'd kick in him the you-know-where with my high heel shoe.)
Another manager I was saying good night to as my work shift ended. He asked what I was going to do that evening so I told him I had a dinner date. (Completely innocent conversation right?)
He replied, "Remember to use a condom later." (I angrily replied "What does THAT have to do with dinner? It's JUST dinner." I can't remember if he apologized or just got quiet after.)
These are just two examples of what some women endure in a car/testosterone driven enviroment. Both managers were my immediate supervisors and had I reported it, it probably would have been career suicide for me. I just kept quiet until I had enough and then moved on.
It's not Lexus' fault at all and most employees behave in a proper manner though.
One manager patted my butt. I did a good job on a project and said to him "Pat me on the back". I turned my shoulder into him and instead of patting my shoulder he patted my ***! (I told him if he ever touched me again I'd kick in him the you-know-where with my high heel shoe.)
Another manager I was saying good night to as my work shift ended. He asked what I was going to do that evening so I told him I had a dinner date. (Completely innocent conversation right?)
He replied, "Remember to use a condom later." (I angrily replied "What does THAT have to do with dinner? It's JUST dinner." I can't remember if he apologized or just got quiet after.)
These are just two examples of what some women endure in a car/testosterone driven enviroment. Both managers were my immediate supervisors and had I reported it, it probably would have been career suicide for me. I just kept quiet until I had enough and then moved on.
It's not Lexus' fault at all and most employees behave in a proper manner though.
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