Paso Robles winery managers sexually harassed employees on ‘daily basis,’ new lawsuit alleges
Male managers of Justin Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles sexually harassed female employees — including by forcibly kissing them, biting them and touching their buttocks and breasts without consent — on a daily basis since at least 2017, a new federal lawsuit says.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Justin Vineyards & Winery LLC and its Los Angeles-based parent company, The Wonderful Company LLC.
According to a news release from the commission, both LLCs failed to properly investigate the complaints by female staff or prevent further sexual harassment and instead retaliated against employees who complained.
“Employers who fail to take action to address sexual harassment and misconduct in the workplace create an environment that encourages this behavior. As a result, employees may be hesitant to voice their complaints; however, they have protections under federal law,” Christine Park-Gonzalez, acting district director for the EEOC Los Angeles District, said in the release.
The effect of the harassment deprived employees of equal employment opportunities “and otherwise adversely affect their working conditions because of their sex,” the lawsuit said.
“We just dispute entirely the allegations made in this filing and will defend Justin against them,” a spokesperson for The Wonderful Company said in a statement to The Tribune. “Beyond that, we do not comment on matters of litigation.”
Supervisors ‘allowed’ to sexually harass employees, lawsuit alleges
Male managers and supervisors at Justin Vineyards & Winery’s production and restaurant locations in Paso Robles sexually harassed female employees both physically and verbally for at least the past five years, the lawsuit said.
The harassment included “unwanted sexual touching of the buttocks, waist and breasts, rubbing of genitals on female subordinate employees, unwanted hugging and kissing, forcible kissing on the mouth, grabbing on the hands, snapping of bra straps, nibbling on the ear, biting on the shoulder, exposure of male employees’ private body parts, texting inappropriate photos, and stroking employees’ hair,” the lawsuit said.
Managers also made sexual comments to employees, such as commenting on an employee’s nipples and stating “I want to smack that ass,” the lawsuit said. They also texted employees at 2 or 3 a.m. asking what they were wearing, asking employees to have a threesome and telling them they wanted a divorce in order to sexually be with an employee.
The harassment was “ongoing, unwelcome, severe and pervasive,” the lawsuit said.
The sexual harassment would occur often within earshot or directly in front of other managers or supervisors, the lawsuit said. Justin Vineyards knew or should have known it was occurring, it said.
Managers were “allowed” to sexually harass female employees on a daily basis, the commission’s news release concluded.
Employees who complained about the sexual harassment would be retaliated against by being assigned extra or double shifts, having their customer allergy requests disregarded, being accused of wrongdoing, and being investigated.
Supervisors would also “yell, verbally berate (reporting employees), laugh at them and slam doors,” the lawsuit alleged. Some employees were forced to leave their jobs.
The unlawful employment practices were “intentional” and “done with malice or with reckless indifference to the federally protected rights of aggrieved employees,” the lawsuit said.
What’s expected next
The alleged conduct of Justin Vineyards & Winery and The Wonderful Company violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits creating a hostile environment based on sex, including sexual harassment and retaliation against complaints of sexual harassment, the lawsuit said.
The federal agency became aware of the harassment when a former employee filed charges of discrimination against the wine company, the lawsuit said. The commission sustained the allegations in January and gave Justin Vineyards “the opportunity to remedy the discriminatory practices,” the lawsuit said, but the wine company failed.
The company was notified of its failure on June 29.
The agency is now seeking monetary damages for the affected employees, including compensatory and punitive damages, along with injunctive relief against the company. It also asked for a jury trial.
Justin Vineyards has a 21-day deadline to reply to the lawsuit.
Latest trouble for Justin Vineyards
The winery previously came under fire in 2016 after San Luis Obispo County Code Enforcement officials issued a stop-work order on a Justin Vineyards property in Adelaida, a region west of Paso Robles, the Tribune reported at the time.
Workers clear-cut thousands of oak trees and steeply graded the hillside, angering many residents and leading some local restaurants to boycott Justin Vineyards wines.
Justin Vineyards is one of the namesakes of Cal Poly’s Justin and J. Lohr Center for Wine and Viticulture, which broke ground in 2018. Justin and J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines in Paso Robles each committed $2.5 million to a campaign for the new facility, the university said then.
This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Paso Robles winery managers sexually harassed employees on ‘daily basis,’ new lawsuit alleges."
