Lululemon Athletica Inc. is the subject of a new lawsuit claiming that the company knew a store supervisor had a history of being "sexually inappropriate" before he allegedly raped a female employee, CNBC reported Dec. 20.
According to the report, the lawsuit alleges that Lululemon transferred the supervisor to another store due to claims of sexually inappropriate behavior. The company also allowed male workers to proposition female co-workers during work hours, according to the suit, which was filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Dec. 19.
After the employee reported that the alleged rape took place at the supervisor's house in April 2016, Lululemon's human resources department pressured her to resign and accept a payout, the lawsuit says. The suit seeks unspecified damage for sexual assault, battery, sexual harassment and other claims, according to the CNBC report.
Lululemon provided the following statement to S&P Global Market Intelligence: "In 2016, [the female employee] raised serious allegations regarding the behavior of another employee. Upon learning of these allegations, the company initiated a comprehensive and in-depth investigation. The accused employee was immediately suspended, and then resigned. Nevertheless, the company saw the investigation through to completion, ultimately finding that the accused employee did engage in behavior that was not in line with our standards of conduct.
"At Lululemon, harassment and discrimination have no place in our community. Our culture is founded on us all positively contributing to an environment rooted in our values, which includes a commitment to working with integrity and a collective dedication to creating a respectful workplace. We are committed to doing everything we can to ensure that that employees come to work each day in safe environments where they are empowered to speak up."
