Oakland Accident Attorneys - Bay Area Accident Law Attorneys Based in Oakland

	PRESS RELEASE June 9, 2004 24 Hour Fitness Loses Bid to Keep Sexual Harassment Suit Secret; Company Pays Over $3.5 Million for Fostering Harassing Environment 24 Hour Fitness, the health club giant, has paid over $3.5 million, including over $1 million in punitive damages, as a result of a sexual harassment arbitration. Documents unsealed by Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Peter Spinetta on Friday revealed not only the outcome of the arbitration, but also the fact that 24 Hour Fitness unsuccessfully attempted to keep the facts and verdict secret. In a 116-page decision, the private arbitrator who heard the case, Barbara Chvany of Orinda, found that male club general managers, salesmen, and personal trainers sexually harassed complainant Cynthia Malek at four of the five clubs in her territory during the eighteen months she was with the company in the late-1990’s. The ruling goes on to conclude that the company terminated Malek in retaliation for her complaints, labeling her "not a team player." The Arbitrator determined that the then-president, Craig Pepin-Donat, participated in the decision to terminate her as a result of her complaints about sexual harassment. Cynthia Malek, 48, of Pleasant Hill, was represented in her lawsuit by Vicki Laden, now with the Oakland City Attorney’s office, Jean Hyams, and Leslie F. Levy of Oakland-based Boxer & Gerson. According to Ms. Hyams, "From what we discovered in this case, you can only conclude that the culture at 24 Hour Fitness was permeated with sexual harassment and disrespect for women. The place was run by a clique of guys who apparently thought it was their personal, sexual playground. Women, whether customers or employees, were treated as prey or objects to ogle. And when a woman stood up to object to being demeaned, the boys in the club closed ranks and found a way to silence her. In Ms. Malek’s case, that meant termination." The Arbitrator issued findings of fact that reveal a work environment "permeated with sexual and gender-based harassment." Ms. Malek and other female employees were continually grabbed, mauled, blocked, pushed, humped and subjected to frightening acts of aggression at the hands of male superiors and co-workers. Ms. Malek feared uncontrolled outbursts of violence by some harassers, including at least one who was believed by company managers to be taking steroids. These outbursts were referred to within the clubs as "roid rages." Another harasser reported to work drunk, but suffered no disciplinary action. Male sales counselor Daniel Botnik made sexually charged comments about Ms. Malek’s body and appearance, culminating in an incident in early September 1995, while Ms. Malek was eating a banana. Mr. Botnik made sexually suggestive comments to her, moaning and groaning to simulate oral sex. When confronted about the allegation, Botnik screamed profanities at Ms. Malek in front of the club’s general manager. Another harasser was Daniel Iniguez, a salesman who harassed Ms. Malek and three other women who worked at the fitness company. 24 Hour Fitness managers looked the other way, ignored the women’s complaints, and failed to stop the harassment because Mr. Iniguez was "a good salesman" who made money for the company. Mr. Iniguez frequently blocked Ms. Malek’s way in a physically intimidating manner, and humped, touched and grabbed her. One witness at the arbitration described how the salesman held Ms. Malek in a closet against her will. Another witness said that Mr. Iniguez boasted that the company was not going to get rid of him because he was a "big grosser." The company’s human resources manager, Joseph Rodriguez, confirmed that Iniguez was permitted to remain with the company because he was a "good salesman." Ms. Malek reported many of the incidents to her superiors and to the company’s human resources manager. None of the harassers were demoted or disciplined for their treatment of Malek and the other women mentioned in her lawsuit. In fact, a number of them were promoted. Just a month after Ms. Malek’s complaints about the Abanana incident,@ Daniel Botnik was promoted to a Club General Manager position. Within a few months of the sexual harassment complaints against top salesman Daniel Iniguez, the company promoted him to the position of Assistant General Manager. In the context of what her attorneys refer to as "an Animal House environment" at the clubs, Ms. Malek also witnessed the sexual harassment of other employees and sexual commentary by male employees about female customers. She and other women complained about a number of the perpetrators over a period of years, to no avail. She was branded as "not a team player" by one of the general managers to whom she complained. Eventually, her manager started to write her up for petty reasons and she was told she would be terminated if she did not accept demotion. Almost immediately following the punitive phase, the company’s attorneys, led by Garry Mathiason of Littler Mendelson, brought a motion to seal the award. They argued that arbitration is, by its nature, a private proceeding and that Ms. Malek should be prevented from releasing the 100-plus page award. They cited the privacy rights of the harassers as an additional reason for gagging Ms. Malek. In April, following extensive briefing by Ms. Hyams and Ms. Levy, Arbitrator Chvany issued a ruling that the award can be made public and rejected the defense arguments in their entirety. Ms. Malek’s attorneys brought this ruling to the attention of the Contra Costa Superior Court, which led to the unsealing of the court record and entry of judgment against 24 Hour Fitness on June 4, 2004. Additionally, Arbitrator Chvany also awarded Boxer & Gerson, plaintiff’s counsel, over $1.1 million dollars in attorneys’ fees. Contacts Jean Hyams 510.835.8870 Lynx-Eyed Marketing Andrea Snedeker 510.919.2324 << BACK