Teen Gets $107,916 Settlement from Phone Retailer in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Many workers who file sexual harassment complaints receive no response while facing job retaliation and termination from their employers who fail to act. When company leaders fail to address workplace harassment, it produces devastating results, as seen in a case involving a teenage employee subjected to repeated harassment by her manager. When she reported the issue to company leadership, they took no action, which led to her job termination.

The sexual harassment lawsuit against Wireless World LLC  and its subsidiary Elite Wireless Group Inc. resulted in a $107,916 settlement payment. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) took over the case after a failed attempt to settle it out of court by filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California to obtain the $107,916 settlement for the teenager. The case involved a teen who faced ongoing harassment from her sales manager, who was in his 30s.

The employee made a formal complaint about harassment to her district sales manager yet received only dismissive laughter in response. The manager sexually assaulted her at the holiday party, which caused her to file a police report and reach out to the CEO of Elite Wireless. The company responded to her harassment by moving her to a location forty-five miles from her home thus forcing her to quit working. Her termination followed after she missed several shifts.

The court documents prove the teenager faced sexual harassment beginning during her first month at Elite Wireless until her last day on the job several months later. Unwanted sexual comments and inappropriate actions from her supervisor produced an environment where she felt unsafe. She submitted multiple harassment complaints, yet her company took no action against the harassment.

Employers’ failure to investigate workplace harassment complaints allows such behavior to continue when they discipline employees instead of punishing harassers. The state of California maintains comprehensive workplace sexual harassment protection laws that demand proactive measures from employers to prevent and respond to workplace harassment.

Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, employers must provide their employees with a workplace environment that is free from discrimination and harassment. All businesses must create specific anti-harassment guidelines while performing scheduled training sessions and taking swift action when employees report incidents.  A failure by employers to investigate worker complaints results in legal liability because it allows hostile work environments to continue.

When it reopened for business in 2021, despite its closure, the company agreed to establish anti-harassment policies and training programs. The agreement requires any future business operated by the company to establish systems for preventing workplace harassment and responding to such incidents.

The workplace harassment issue extends across all business sectors. The EEOC recently stepped up its focus on protecting young workers who experience sexual harassment at their workplaces, particularly in retail stores, hospitality services, and food service establishments. Many employees, including teenagers, lack understanding of their legal rights and fear to report incidents when their harassers hold positions of power. Teenage employees lack sufficient workplace experience, which makes it difficult for them to identify regular workplace behavior.

Workers who experience sexual harassment at work need to document every incident before reporting the misconduct to their supervisor or HR department. People affected by workplace sexual harassment should consult legal professionals when their complaints receive no response or when the company handles the matter incorrectly.

If you feel your employer failed to protect you from sexual harassment or retaliated against you after speaking up, contact a qualified San Francisco employment lawyer today. McCormack Law Firm has extensive experience helping workers resolve employment disputes. Contact us today for a free initial consultation.