WB&S filed a lawsuit on behalf of a former patient of a prestigious Marin County rehab center who accuses a staff member of sexual harassment and abuse. Our client shared her harrowing experience with the Marin Independent Journal.
Marin drug rehab faces sexual abuse lawsuit
The Press Democrat talked to WBS’s John Winer about our firm’s workplace sexual harassment lawsuit against Napa Valley’s Auberge Solage Resort & Spa. “If you let somebody get away with this, if you don’t fire somebody who has multiple accusations with credible proof, the problem is going to spread.” We represent three former employees who are speaking out about allegations that a supervisor habitually harassed and intimidated them at work. https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/lawsuit-alleges-renowned-napa-valley-resort-solage-failed-to-stop-sexual/
Another Former Employee of a Luxury Napa Valley Resort Breaks Silence About Workplace Sexual Harassment at Auberge Solage Resort & Spa in Calistoga
A third woman has shared her story with the California Business Journal detailing allegations that a supervisor in charge of training other employees on policies and procedures for Auberge habitually harassed and intimidated her at work.
The attorneys at Winer Burritt & Scott now represent three former employees who accuse senior massage therapist Eliot Ferrer of grooming, stalking and harassing them. They’ve filed a civil lawsuit to hold Solage management accountable for fostering a toxic work environment that threatens the safety of their workers.
“Auberge failed in its responsibility to separate the employees and failed to protect these women from a senior staff member who preyed on younger, vulnerable colleagues,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney John Winer.
Brenna Gruby, the third woman to join the suit, worked in the reservations department for the high-end spa from the summer of 2018 until winter 2019, when she left her job because Ferrer’s behavior had made her work environment unbearable.
“I felt completely alone,” says Gruby, who only learned that other women had endured similar treatment when she read an article about two massage therapists at Auberge Solage filing a lawsuit in December 2021.
The first plaintiff to come forward, Leila Muller has been a massage therapist for nearly a decade. She was thrilled to begin working at Solage while pregnant with her daughter. “I thought of Elliot kind of like a ‘work dad’ because he’s significantly older than me. And he was just really nice to me.”
According to Muller, it was after Ferrer found out she was pregnant that things “just got out of control.” At first, it seemed that he was trying to be helpful, carrying items for her and bringing her treats. Then he started giving her bracelets he’d made to sell. He asked her to wear them as a way to promote his work, but it became awkward when he repeatedly inquired whether her boyfriend was mad about her wearing Ferrer’s jewelry. He started sending her overly familiar emails and a bathing suit picture.
He began trying to embrace her at work, which she describes as an “uncomfortable hug…he would put his hand on my low back.”
When Ferrer emailed Muller pictures from her hometown, where he had traveled on his day off, things got more worrisome. He had photographed personal landmarks such as her high school and aunt’s store. “It creeped me out,” she says.
The second plaintiff, who asked to be identified as “Amy,” initially joined the Solage team at Muller’s suggestion, working as an on-call massage therapist at the sister spa, Auberge. When she began at Solage, Amy was immediately alarmed by Ferrer’s behavior.
“The first day, I realized he was flirty, that he wouldn’t leave me alone. He was following me around. He was overly friendly. It made me so uncomfortable.”
“I was extremely disappointed with the company. They didn’t listen or take our concerns seriously. My anxiety was so high that I had panic attacks all the time. I started to lose sleep. I got very depressed during that time,” says Amy.
Winer hopes that a successful outcome in the lawsuit will result in effective changes at the resort. Until then, Auberge Solage remains an unsafe environment, especially for young women.
“As far as we can tell, Auberge Solage has done nothing to solve its sexual harassment problem. Instead, they have developed a bunker mentality where they are choosing to litigate rather than fix their broken Spa and HR Department, leaving employees and ultimately patrons at risk”, said Winer.
Read the full article below
by Gabe Classon
Berkeley High School alumna Rachel Phillips has filed a lawsuit against her former teacher and Berkeley Unified School District, or BUSD, alleging she was sexually assaulted and harassed two decades ago.
In a complaint filed in June, obtained by Berkeleyside, Phillips alleged former BUSD teacher Matthew Bissell inappropriately touched and sexualized her from 1999 to 2003. At the time, Phillips was a minor, the lawsuit notes.
According to Berkeleyside, Bissell resigned from his BUSD position earlier this year amid an investigation that substantiated the claims Phillips had made against him.
Bissell declined to comment on the specifics of the case through his attorney Alison Crane. Crane said in an email Bissell denies any allegations of inappropriate conduct and “looks forward” to addressing the allegations in court.
Phillips alleged that Bissell abused his authority to exploit her “physically and emotionally,” her attorney John Winer said in an email.
Winer further alleged BUSD either had poor record-keeping or had covered up allegations of Bissell’s sexual misconduct. The district, Winer alleged, had failed to fulfill its duty to protect Phillips.
“She complained to her coach, and she complained to a teacher, and she complained to the head of the athletic department,” Winer alleged. “Nothing was done to protect her.”
Winer also alleged Bissell’s inappropriate conduct went beyond any one student or time frame, saying he spoke to students and parents who repeatedly complained about Bissell’s “creepy” conduct. However, Winer said the district said it could only find records of two complaints.
Winer added approximately 30 people have contacted his firm about filing cases against Bissell and BUSD. In January, Winer expects to file another suit with seven plaintiffs who allege abuse from Bissell over an 18 year period. Most plaintiffs were 14 or 15 at the time of the alleged abuse, he noted.
Citing the privacy rights of students and employees, BUSD spokesperson Trish McDermott declined to comment on the lawsuit, although she emphasized generally the district investigates alleged wrongdoing and makes its decisions based on fact.
“The emotional and physical safety of every student is a top priority for the district,” McDermott added in an email.
Winer, however, alleged Bissell’s protection was prioritized above that of students and that Bissell has not been adequately punished. Bissell allegedly continued to earn a living by substitute teaching at other schools after he resigned from BUSD, while Phillips has suffered greatly from his alleged abuse, Winer added.
Damages to Phillips relating to future therapy costs, emotional distress, lost wages due to stunted career prospects and other claims could be worth over $1 million, Winer said. In addition to personal restitution, Winer said they are seeking changes to how BUSD handles sexual misconduct allegations.
“Our goal is to change policies so that complaints are taken more seriously,” Winer said.
Contact Gabe Classon at gclasson@dailycal.org, and follow him on Twitter at @GabeClasson.
John Winer Quoted in SF Chronical article: “In over 42 years of handling a large number of psychological injury cases caused by chiropractors, doctors, psychotherapists abusing their influence, I’ve learned this kind of conduct by a chiropractor can create significant injuries,” said John Winer, Kohler’s attorney.
Read Full Article here: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Head-of-Alameda-fitness-center-surrenders-16603975.php
Or read below:
By Mattias Gafni
The head of a popular fitness and wellness center in Alameda surrendered his chiropractic license after state medical investigators said he had sex with three patients and one employee at his business and cited other purported violations.
John Beall, who has owned RISE Bodyworks in Alameda since 2010, turned in his license Oct. 9 after the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners alleged he had sex with patients during exams between 2016 and 2018, as well as an employee in his office.
With another employee, he made inappropriate comments about her breasts and whether she’d been a prostitute or stripper, state officials said.
One former patient named in the state probe, Kerry Kohler, sued Beall, alleging he took advantage of her to have sex while she was vulnerable during two years of exams.
“I’ve had ongoing emotional trauma and anguish. I don’t wish this upon anyone,” Kohler told The Chronicle. “I’m grateful to have the strong support of a community that believes women who have been victimized.”
Beall, 51, acknowledged in an interview with The Chronicle that he made mistakes, but said he had “dating” relationships with the women and the sex was consensual.
“Since I did sleep with clients in the past, I stood up and took my (punishment) and voluntarily surrendered my license,” Beall said. “I have slept with co-workers and employees over the years.”
According to the American Chiropractic Association’s code of ethics, having sex with patients “exploits the trust and dependency of the patient.
“Sexual misconduct is a form of behavior that adversely affects the public welfare and harms patients individually and collectively,” the ethics guide states. “Sexual misconduct exploits the doctor-patient relationship and is a violation of the public trust.”
RISE employs about 40 people, offering chiropractic care, physical and group training, Pilates, acupuncture, massage and more. Beall said he still owns the business but no longer takes chiropractor appointments, although he works in the gym. The facility employs other licensed chiropractors.
In August, Robert Puleo, executive officer of the state chiropractic board, alleged 16 causes for discipline against Beall, including having sex with three patients and one employee, along with improper billing, failure to keep adequate records and unprofessional conduct. He asked the board to revoke or suspend Beall’s license.
Beall could have had a hearing before the board but decided to voluntarily surrender his license, which would enable him to reapply in two years. As part of the agreement, Beall agreed that the state board “could establish a factual basis for the charges in the Amended Accusation and that those charges constitute cause for discipline.”
Beall’s attorney, Michael Firestone, called it a “soft admission” in which he is not admitting to each and every allegation. He disputed “the majority of the allegations,” said Firestone, who said that challenging them with an administrative hearing would have been expensive.
“Dr. Beall … accepts responsibility for his unprofessionalism in blurring the lines when having romantic relationships with co-workers and patients,” Firestone said. “Dr. Beall has taken proactive rehabilitative efforts to educate himself better regarding the necessary boundaries in a patient-provider relationship and is confident he will not cross those boundaries again.”
He said Beall completed courses in boundaries and ethics. Beall has not been arrested or charged with any crimes.
In 2019, Kohler sued Beall alleging he took advantage of her as his patient and that the pair had sex over a two-year period. She alleged her marriage was crumbling, and that her father and father-in-law died in close succession, making her particularly vulnerable. She started seeing Beall after developing severe back pain in 2017.
“There is an inherent level of trust between doctor and patient,” Kohler said.
She alleged in the lawsuit that he texted inappropriate photos of himself and that the pair had sex in the massage room and his office dozens of times. They reached a settlement in May 2021.
“In over 42 years of handling a large number of psychological injury cases caused by chiropractors, doctors, psychotherapists abusing their influence, I’ve learned this kind of conduct by a chiropractor can create significant injuries,” said John Winer, Kohler’s attorney.
Beall said he learned a lesson and realizes he violated the ethics of his role as a chiropractor. “I totally get it now that that’s not cool,” he told The Chronicle.
NAPA, Calif. (December 16, 2021)— Two massage therapists that worked at the Auberge Solage Resort & Spa in Calistoga filed a lawsuit this week in Napa County Superior Court that accuses the global corporation of protecting a senior staff member who preyed on other employees.
The complaint names two women who claim a supervisor in charge of training other employees on policies and procedures for Auberge habitually harassed, intimidated, and touched them inappropriately despite repeated complaints to management.
“Auberge forced our clients to work directly with a sexual harasser and condoned his behavior,” said the plaintiffs’ attorney John Winer. “Auberge failed in its responsibility to separate the employees and failed to protect these women from an ongoing hostile work environment,” he added.
The plaintiffs include 32-year-old Leila Muller, who started working at Auberge as a massage therapist in March of 2018. Leila worked directly with Elliot Ferrer, a senior massage therapist in his sixties who she claims showed her an excessive amount of attention when she first started the job. According to the complaint, Ferrer approached her with his unwelcome and intrusive behavior, often buying her gifts and sending her inappropriate emails. The unwanted attention escalated into hugs, nonconsensual touching of her butt, and then turned hostile when she rejected his advancements.
“I reported the ongoing behavior to the Spa Director, and management assured me they would handle the matter, but nothing changed, and they took no steps to protect my safety in the workplace,” said Leila Muller. “When I realized no one cared, I felt depressed and hopeless,” added Muller. In addition to reporting the behavior to Human Resources, Leila filed a complaint with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
On March 15, 2020, Leila stopped working at the resort due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. She has been available to return to work at Auberge, but they have not requested that she return.
The second plaintiff, Raquel Williamson, currently works as an on-call therapist at Solage in Calistoga. She explained in the complaint that she witnessed Ferrer sexually harassing Leila and experienced unwanted touching and retaliatory behavior.
“We are not the only ones who suffered in silence. Other masseuses continue to experience sexual harassment by this same supervisor, but they’re too afraid to come forward because of the fear of losing their job,” said Raquel Williamson.
“If Auberge can’t keep its staff safe from sexual harassment at the Spa, how can we be sure they’re willing to protect their guests?” said Winer.
Read Complaint: 12.15.21 FILED Muller, et al v. Auberge, et al. Complaint
Article by Yahoo News
by Peter Aitken
October 23, 2021
Two former Apple employees have lodged lawsuits against the tech giant, alleging ageism, sexism and other discriminatory practices in the company.
Employees last month launched #AppleToo, a campaign to gather and share current and past employees’ experiences of inequity, intimidation and abuse in the company. The two ex-employees have gone a step further by taking legal action.
Former high-level engineer Catherine Vartuli alleges that Apple discriminated and retaliated against her after she discovered and informed her manager that she was being paid less than half what her male peers earned, Business Insider reported.
Vartuli filed her lawsuit in late June in Santa Clara County, but it went unreported until #AppleToo started to gain attention.
Finance director Bernadette Alexander in February sued Apple, alleging ageism and retaliation. Alexander claimed a number of incidents over the past few years, such as instructions in 2017 from a new manager who told her, “I hire nothing but young people. They are hungry and fast and cheaper.”
Then, in 2019, she said her manager told her that her 10-year work anniversary meant it was time for her to be moved out of her position, with three candidates already under consideration and all at least 10 years younger than she was.
Vartuli, meanwhile, alleged that she was in a severe minority of women in her department: At meetings, there would be “2 to 5 women out of 30 to 40 people.”
John Winer, a lawyer for both women, said he feels “strongly” that both cases will succeed due to the “blatant” discrimination against his clients.
Apple did not respond to a FOX Business request for comment regarding the lawsuits, nor has it formally responded to either lawsuit, but the rise of the #AppleToo may force the company to take action.
“For too long, Apple has evaded public scrutiny,” the workers who launched #AppleToo said in a statement. “When we press for accountability and redress to the persistent injustices we witness or experience in our workplace, we are faced with a pattern of isolation, degradation, and gaslighting.”
A national labor agency in September opened investigations into two charges against Apple filed by employees, and Apple fired Cher Scarlett, one of the workers at the center of the #AppleToo movement.
https://www.yahoo.com/now/apple-ex-employees-file-ageism-125751894.html
https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/apple-ageism-gender-discrimination-lawsuit
Two former high-level employees sue Apple for age, gender discrimination
Soon after Rachel Phillips arrived at H Building for her senior yearbook photo shoot, she felt a hug from behind. She said she quickly realized it was her chemistry teacher, the one she alleges sexually assaulted and harassed her throughout her four years at Berkeley High School.
“He finds my ear and my neck and he starts making out with the side of my face,” Phillips recalled. “He grabs my crotch and lifts me into his arms like a baby.”
In the 2003 yearbook reviewed by The Chronicle, Matthew Bissell can be seen wrapping his arms around Phillips, his mouth aimed at her neck. The yearbook caption read: “Most Likely to date a teacher.”
“It was one of the worst moments of my life,” Phillips recalled in a Zoom interview with The Chronicle on Wednesday. “I went into a really deep depression. I was self-medicating with drugs and alcohol.”
The photo culminated four years of sexual abuse and harassment at the hands of Bissell, according to a lawsuit filed by Phillips last month. From ages 14 to 17, Phillips alleged that Bissell would slap or squeeze her butt in class or on the track “nearly every day,” touch her crotch, lick or suck on her neck, kiss her neck or ear, put his tongue in her ear, reach into her pants and pull her thong underwear up, and talk about her breasts, among other inappropriate behavior.
Attempts to contact Bissell, 47, who has not been charged with a crime, were not successful.
Phillips sued Bissell and the Berkeley Unified School District, alleging negligence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, battery and gender violence, among other causes of action. In April, the district mailed a letter to Phillips concluding that the complaint she levied to them last October of alleged sexual abuse and harassment had been substantiated. The report also concluded that Bissell had engaged in “inappropriate behavior” toward multiple students “over the years.”
Phillips’ attorney John Winer said he has seven other former students as clients who attended Berkeley High between 2014 and 2018 with allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior by Bissell. They all plan to join the lawsuit, he said.
Written by Kelli Burritt
May 28, 2021
The #MeToo movement that swept the country in 2017 brought a fresh focus on sexual harassment and misconduct that occurs in the workplace. According to the American Bar Association, in response to the movement, fifteen states passed new laws protecting against sexual harassment in the workplace, including California, which is listed as one of the states that led the way with new laws that focused on making sexual harassment training mandatory, softened the federal “severe or pervasive” standard to make it easier to sue in state courts, and banned the nondisclosure agreements that predators use to silence their victims. According to a Times article, audiences only recently began to see the movement portrayed in the media a couple of years later, with movies such as Bombshell and TV shows like Apple + series The Morning Show, which showcased the workplace sexual harassment and misconduct issues people face in the workplace.
The 2019 film Bombshell, which stars Charlize Theron as former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Margot Robbie, and Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson, co-host of Fox News “Fox and Friends”, follows Carlson’s lawsuit against CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. According to reports, in July 2016, Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes, accusing him of ruining her career and firing her for rejecting his sexual advances. The suit alleged that in response to her complaints, Ailes cut her pay, gave her less favorable time slots, and denied her critical interviews. Both Ailes and Fox News denied the allegations, but not long after it had inspired Megyn Kelly and other women to come forward with their allegations. In an interview with Reuters, actor Charlize Theron described how the movie represented such a difficult issue. “This story lends itself really nicely to the complexities of what sexual harassment really looks like, and how it lives and breathes in very different gray spaces that we might not necessarily have wanted to acknowledge.”
The Apple+ TV series The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell, portrays the issue of a male TV anchor who was fired for reports of sexual misconduct. Although the show’s executive producer denies that the show was based on real-life events, it closely mirrors the allegations made against former host Matt Lauer, who was fired from The Today Show after undisclosed reports of sexual misconduct came to light. According to an article by The Conversation, unlike Bombshell, which focused on the victims of sexual transgressions experienced at Fox News, The Morning Show considered the pervasive effects of sexual misbehavior and power abuses that occur in the workplace and examined the impact it has on the victim’s relationships.
Last month, I was invited to join a Zoom panel for a communication class at Chapman University, where we discussed the legal aspects of sexual harassment and misconduct in the workplace. The panel also included Kerry Ehrin, who is the showrunner/executive producer of the series The Morning Show, actress/on-air personality Amy Paffrath, head of human resources for entertainment union SAG-AFTRA Tashia Mallette, and Chapman campus crisis counselor Dr. Danielle Smith.
The panelists discussed how The Morning Show portrayed issues of sexual misconduct, how the fictional scenarios in the show compare to real-world situations, and how the series can have a positive impact on societal change. “Having these panelists each bring their unique professional perspectives to the discussion had a dramatic effect on my students, allowing them to explore the many facets of the issues themselves, as well as how the media – particularly entertainment media – can be brought to bear on the way audiences see and act upon what they are exposed to via the media,” said Professor Larry Deutchman. “They recognized that viewing is not intended to be a passive experience and they can change people’s lives by applying entertainment-education practices and communication theory to works intended to entertain.”
Although it is a difficult and sensitive topic to touch on, audiences need to learn about the issues that unfortunately continue to be rampant in the workplace. If the exposure of the widespread sexual abuse allegations continues to populate mainstream media, it may help educate others of the issues that occur, and employers can help their workers feel safe in their workspace.
If you are an employee and have been the victim of any form of sexual harassment or misconduct, you should speak to an attorney. Every case is different and requires the care of an attentive lawyer. At Winer, Burritt & Scott, LLP, we empower our clients, providing them with one-on-one service and a list of potential legal actions against the perpetrator(s) of the harassment. We can investigate, finance, develop, and prepare your case for the best possible outcome. With lawyers recognized throughout California as top performers, choosing our firm for litigation offers many benefits.
