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A former WeWork employee claims to have been sexually assaulted at corporate events and the fact that WeWork does not intervene and hold her assailants accountable is emblematic of a "fraternal culture in its own right that permeates [it] from top to bottom, "according to a new trial.
WeWork, a collaborative venture founded in 2010, employs more than 2,000 people and has an estimated value of $ 20 billion. The company has offices in 90 cities around the world and, since its inception, has grown so fast that it is now the largest office tenant in New York.
The complaint, which was filed Thursday at the Supreme Court in Manhattan, details the allegations of former employee Ruby Anaya against the company. Anaya, who started working at WeWork in 2014, said she was harassed by two different employees at two company-wide events, where attendance was mandatory and where alcohol was readily available. Anaya "immediately reported each incident in detail to Human Resources" and has seen her complaints dismissed twice, she said.
The first alleged incident occurred in August 2017 at an annual event of the company called Summer Camp; On Facebook, the company described the summer camp as a "festival getaway" for employees and their guests. Anaya claims that a male colleague has "seized [her] from behind, in a sexual way "and that when human resources asked him questions, he said he did not remember the event because he was" in a state of drunkenness ". The lawsuit claims that WeWork has not reprimanded the employee beyond the requirement to take a course on preventing sexual harassment and that he is still employed by the company. (It is not known if Anaya was working directly with this employee, as the summer camp is open to WeWork employees from all departments.)
Anaya also said that another male employee had forcibly seized her at the annual WeWork summit, held in January 2018 in New York. Anaya left the scene after presenting a prize and stumbled after stumbling on one of his heels; she says that she put her hand on the shoulder of a colleague to stabilize herself. She then recounted in the complaint that the employee had "grabbed her waist and pulled her body towards him", then "kissed her by force, stuck her tongue in her mouth and refused to kiss her." release "until she is slapped. Anaya claims to have reported the incident to Human Resources and learned that the employee no longer remembered the event and "would have remembered if he had been slapped".
Anaya's complaint states that WeWork simply did not fail to take action against its alleged attackers – the company also retaliated against her for speaking out. She added that the supervisors had begun to suspend her projects before terminating her abruptly in August 2018. (According to a 2003 study, approximately 75% of victims of workplace harassment were retaliated against have spoken.)
Anaya was first hired as a project manager on WeWork's digital team. In 2017, she joined the culture team and liaised between employees and management. The complaint against WeWork states that she led diversity discussion groups, participated in the planning of summits and summer camp events and attempted to convince management to bridge the gender pay gap. women within the company. She also notes that she has received two increases and many awards during her employment.
WeWork, for one, explains that Anaya was fired for poor performance. A spokesman for the company sent the following statement to Vox:
These claims against WeWork are without merit and we will fight against this lawsuit. WeWork is always committed to promoting an inclusive, supportive and safe workplace. WeWork investigated the complaints of this employee, took the necessary measures and this employee was dismissed solely because of her poor performance. She received negative performance evaluations, including one more than a year before she was fired. She was ranked among the worst performers on her team, based on feedback from peers and managers. After being fired, she acknowledged her poor performance and indicated that she did not go to work regularly. She even expressed concerns about her performance to a colleague shortly before her dismissal.
Anaya's lawsuit against WeWork, however, claims that the company retaliated against her for reporting the alleged assaults and attempted to portray her as an underperforming employee just weeks before her layoff. She says that six weeks before her dismissal, a WeWork employee "surreptitiously photographed [her] take a glass of wine with another colleague "and then used this photo as proof that Anaya was turning away from her responsibilities and was drinking at work. She further alleges that the issue of wine was only raised on the day of her dismissal – and that drinking wine with a colleague would not have been another problem at WeWork, a company that 'boosts its free beer at the and spends more than $ 20 million each year on summit and summer camp events.
WeWork's water consumption culture was so ubiquitous and problematic, according to the complaint, that a co-worker told Anaya that it was "a matter of time before anyone would get violate "at an event organized by the company. A spokesperson for WeWork declined to comment on Anaya's allegations about the company's photo taking or company policy on alcohol.
Anaya's lawyer, Seth Rafkin, told NBC New York that the company had never raised any performance issues. "We also note the obvious: if our client has been poor for a year or more, why did WeWork never give him a warning or a performance plan, what HR professionals will tell you is a typical practice? . "And why was the decision to transfer her taken only after she complained again of a sexual assault and how she was managed?" ? "
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