Chanel Falasco testified last month in a Illinois federal court that for most of the 2.5 years she worked in sales at the Gucci flagship store in Chicago, an assistant store manager often made “flirtatious overtures and sexually suggestive comments” to her. The comments were made on the sales floor as well as in front of other managers, the complaint notes.
Falasco was told to “brush him off,” “ignore it,” and to “avoid working with him” after she complained to a supervisor, according to the complaint. Falasco also alleges that the manager exposed himself to her.
Falasco alleges her store had no human resources team and when she asked the operation’s coordinator for the contact to corporate HR, she was ignored. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) conducted its own investigation and declared in February that there was “cause to believe” Falasco encountered discrimination due to her sex.
The EEOC tried to reach an out-of-court resolution with Gucci, but when that failed, Falasco got the go-ahead to sue in July. A Gucci spokesman said that the company, as a matter of policy, does “not comment on personnel-related matters.”