Lawyer accuses Fresno law firm of sex harassment after boss’s ‘dirty behavior’ at strip club
A female lawyer has filed a sexual harassment suit against her former law firm in Fresno, saying she and other employees were taken to a strip club by a senior partner, whose alleged behavior at the club made her feel humiliated.
The lawyer, Michelle Ritchie, states in her lawsuit that she was shocked to see Joseph Yrulegui, a partner and shareholder of Yrulegui & Roberts of Fresno, make gestures mimicking oral sex to many of the strippers at the City Lights Nightclub on Clovis Avenue.
She also accuses Yrulegui of supplying his co-workers with dollar bills to tip the dancers and paying for lap dances for the employees, according to the lawsuit.
“After that, plaintiff was uncomfortable, felt degraded and humiliated by Joseph Yrulegui. She talked to the other employees about how disgusting and dirty his behavior was. The employees also were embarrassed, humiliated, and uncomfortable with Joseph Yrulegui’s actions,” the lawsuit states.
Ritchie is alleging several violations, including sexual harassment, sex discrimination, failure to investigate, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking financial damages.
According to the lawsuit, prior to the strip club incident Ritchie was doing well at Yrulegui & Roberts, a workers’ compensation defense firm. She was hired on Feb. 8, 2021 and within 10 months her salary was increased twice, to the point she was nearly earning $100,000 per year.
At Christmas time, she was rewarded with a $7,500 bonus.
Her relationship with the firm’s senior partners, however, would change dramatically after its annual Christmas party on Dec. 10.
The party that included gift giving began at noon and ended at about 10 p.m. After the party, Yrulegui requested that Ritchie drive him and another female employee to a nearby sports bar to meet up with other employees who had been at the Christmas party, according to the lawsuit.
They spent several hours at the sports bar drinking alcoholic beverages. Yrulegui then “instructed a number of other young female employees and two male employees to take Uber/Lyft rides to City Lights,” the lawsuit states.
During the ride over to the club, the lawsuit states, Yrulegui asked “one of the employees whether or not she wanted/enjoyed anal sex.”
Ritchie states in the lawsuit that she had never been to a strip club and hadn’t heard of City Lights. When they got there she sat away from the bar and stage. She also felt obliged to stay because Yrulegui was one of the senior partners.
“Plaintiff believed as an employee, she should remain with the group until attorney Joseph Yrulegui left and the work event had concluded. While at the strip club, plaintiff, the other female employees, and a male clerk employee discussed that they were uncomfortable and embarrassed by attorney Joseph Yrulegui’s interactions with the strippers,” the lawsuit states.
Ritchie alleges in the lawsuit that Yrulegui, because of his employer-employee relationship, caused unwanted sexual contact by proxy when he directed and required some of the employees present to submit to lap dances and engage with the strippers.
Defense attorney responds
Yrulegui’s lawyer Howard Sagaser said the night at the strip club has been completely blown out of proportion. He also said this was not a work sanctioned event.
“There was nothing compulsory here, everyone was making their own free choices, “ Sagaser said. “This was a voluntary social outing.”
Sagaser added that Ritchie could have left the nightclub if she was offended. “She knew she wasn’t going to Sunday service,” he said.
As for the gestures Yrulegui was accused of making at the dancers, Sagaser said that his suspicion is Yrulegui may have done what other patrons at City Lights might do.
Ritchie also alleges that the firm threatened to prevent her from getting another legal job in Fresno. The lawsuit states that Ritchie was a top candidate for a job with another firm when they called and canceled their interview with her.
Sagaser denied that Yrulegui & Roberts tried to sabotage her search for another job.
Ritchie is currently working for another workers’ compensation firm based in San Clemente.
Contacted on Friday, Ritchie declined to comment on specifics in the lawsuit other than to say: “The complaint only contains the truth and I have complete faith that as this case goes on we will be able to prove it.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2022 at 8:03 AM.
