Ross Stores Inc. Pays $130,000 to Resolve Sexual Harassment Claims

DD’s Discounts d/b/a Ross Stores Inc. (Ross Stores), a discount retailer with stores throughout California, has paid $130,000 to settle claims brought by an individual Complainant represented by the Law Office of Daniel H. Galindo involving allegations of physical sexual harassment by a manager.  The allegations against the Company included sexual harassment, retaliation, and the failure to protect a seasonal, minimum wage, monolingual Spanish-speaking employee from a manager’s harassment at one of its stores located in Oakland, California.

 

The individual Complainant, a former employee, filed a complaint with the DFEH in January 2018.  The Complainant alleged that her manager subjected her to sexual touching on two separate occasions after calling her into his office.  The Complainant also alleged that when she internally reported her manager’s harassment, the business failed to take any meaningful action, but gave her an ultimatum of returning to work with her harasser or resign from her job after hastily investigating her complaints.

 

“Low-wage workers, especially immigrants, are particularly vulnerable to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation due to the power imbalance between the employee and the employer,” said Daniel H. Galindo.  “No one should fear losing their job for making a complaint or have to put up with unwanted sexual advances to make a living.  The law protects an employee who complains of any violation of law and provides for significant recourse for victims of sexual harassment and other violations of the Labor Code.”

 

The Complainant, DFEH, and Ross Stores agreed to globally resolve the claims through a settlement that includes programmatic relief in addition to monetary compensation.  Ross Stores has agreed to ensure its written anti-harassment policy protects all Ross employees from unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by ensuring it is clear, provides for multiple alternative ways of making reports, and is distributed to all employees upon hire.  Ross has also committed to important investigative procedures that ensure fairer protocols, providing periodic sexual harassment trainings to its employees and managers, establishing a language line for non-English speakers to make complaints, as well as other actions.