On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, Cantrell Astbury Kranz filed a lawsuit against Sprouts Farmers Market, alleging it terminated a former employee who complained about sexual harassment and sexual battery at the hands of her manager. The EEOC found reasonable cause to believe all her allegations.
The lawsuit alleges that Plaintiff, Jane Doe (“Doe”), suffered multiple instances of sexual harassment and sexual battery while working at SF Markets, LLC d/b/a Sprouts Farmers Market (“Sprouts”). The first incident occurred in 2017. While at work and without Doe’s consent, one of Doe’s male co-workers showed her a video of himself masturbating. Doe promptly reported this disgusting incident of sexual harassment to her supervisors. But Doe’s supervisors failed to take appropriate remedial action. Instead, Sprouts promoted this co-worker to supervisor shortly after this incident.
The second and third incidents occurred in August 2020. First, Doe’s supervisor, Defendant George Mares (“Mares”), ordered Doe to join him alone in a secluded office with no windows, no cameras, and the door closed. Once alone in the office, Mares ordered Doe to show him her breasts under the implicit threat that Doe would face adverse employment action, up to and including termination, if she failed to comply with this order.
A few days later, Mares again ordered Doe to join him alone in the secluded office. Mares again ordered Doe to show him her breasts. This time, Mares ordered Doe to unzip her pants. After Doe’s pants were unzipped, he put his hand inside her underwear and digitally penetrated Doe’s vagina without her consent, express or implied. Again, Mares gave all these orders under the implicit threat that Doe would face adverse employment actions, up to and including termination, if she failed to comply with these orders.
Soon after, Doe reported these two horrific incidents of sexual harassment and sexual battery to Sprouts’ HR department. Doe also referenced the 2017 incident, which she had previously reported to her supervisors in 2017. Within hours of Doe making this complaint, Sprouts retaliated against Doe by suspending her without pay, pending the outcome of the investigation. Eleven days later, Sprouts terminated Doe’s employment in retaliation for making these complaints. The EEOC, after an exhaustive two-year investigation that included reviewing documents, gathering testimony, and on-site inspection and interviews, found reasonable cause to believe all of Doe’s claims of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation.
The EEOC also found “that since at least August 2019 to present, there is reasonable cause to believe that [Sprouts] subjected a class of [Sprouts’] female and male employees within District 52 (including the Monrovia, Thousand Oaks, Burbank, Granada Hills, Eagle Rock, and West Hills stores) to sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, and retaliation for engaging in protected activity, including, but not limited to, for complaining about sexual harassment, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.”
The lead attorney for Plaintiff at Cantrell Astbury Kranz is Warren Astbury.