Salesman Sues Gucci For Straight Discrimination

Photo via dogseat's flickr

A former Gucci salesman at the 5th Avenue flagship store has filed a $5MM lawsuit saying he was discriminated against because he's straight. Adolfo Mendez says his manager at the store, Michael Daly, crept up behind him and gave him a shoulder-to-ass massage, reports the Daily News. Mendez claims he froze the first time it happened, but upon the second he told Daly, "Look, I really don't appreciate this. You touched me. I don't think it's professional." Allegedly Daly was stunned and gave him a "how dare you" look.

Meanwhile, over in the women's department, manager (not singer/songwriter) David Gray was playing the role of Mendez's direct boss, and allegedly told him, "I know you're gay."

Mendez complained to human resources about the physical acts, the comments, and the consequential reprimands he was getting for not playing along. He was placed on paid leave and then fired two weeks later; Gray and Daly reportedly no longer work for Gucci either. Mendez's lawyer told the paper, "Not only are the managers engaging in inappropriate sexual banter on a public floor, the HR department retaliated against the employee who brought it to their attention."

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By Jen Carlson in News on April 23, 2010 10:34 AM

Comments [rss]

TheMiddleVoice

Sexual harassment is crossing the line no matter what side of the

line you stand on. AND NO always means NO. Hopefully that is clearly spelled out in Gucci's HR policy manual. Otherwise they are going to have to sell a lot of bags just to cover court cost and fines.

patjenks

Nobody should have to put up with sexual harassment at work, whether gay or straight. There are sites like eBossWatch where you can do research on potential bosses before you accept a new job offer.

Mordicai

Uh, that isn't "straight discrimination," that is sexual harassment. "Straight discrimination" only exists in the fanciful world where evangelicals pretend they live in full of the persecution of the faithful-- persecution like having to abide by separation of church & state, & allowing one atheist & one Muslim into the House of Representatives (none in the Senate, thank you!).

Gotham Extremist

Seriously, aside from the security dude, what straight guy would want to work at Gucci?

angry_pickle

Because even a fashion house needs people behind the scene to run a business like a business. Accountants, technical staff, lawyers, etc.