LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A businesswoman and one of her former employees have reached a tentative settlement of the ex-worker's lawsuit alleging her onetime boss -- who runs her company out of Caitlyn Jenner's Malibu guesthouse -- fired her in 2020 in retaliation for advocating that the marketing team work from home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Lawyers for Rosa Chu filed court papers with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elaine Lu on Wednesday stating that her case against Sophia Hutchins and her company, Lumasol, was conditionally resolved depending on the “satisfactory completion of specified terms.”
The court papers do not specify what those terms were nor do they explain the overall obligations of any of the parties under the proposed settlement.
Lumasol markets an odorless sunscreen mist created to be used after makeup is applied. In her lawsuit filed in October 2020, Chu alleged unlawful discharge, unlawful retaliation and unfair business practices.
“Defendants Lumasol and Ms. Hutchins terminated Ms. Chu's employment in retaliation for her continuous complaints regarding employee safety and working from home related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the suit alleged.
The plaintiff also alleged that Hutchins made racially insensitive remarks, including “Asians are such bad drivers” and “We need to try to be as Jew-ey as possible” and that perhaps her sunscreen product was “not meant for Black people.”
In his court papers, Lumasol attorney Joseph A. Schwachter stated the pandemic severely dampened the market for sunscreen products in the months after Chu was hired because people were warned not to stay outside, resulting in Chu and most of Lumasol's remaining employees being laid off beginning in late July 2020.
Chu started working for Lumasol in January 2020 as the creative marketing lead and often had to work weekends with little or no prior notice, her suit stated. She initially reported directly to Hutchins and Kianoosh Darabi, the performance marketing lead, then later as well to Noah Wossen, managing director of operations, the suit stated.
Despite the pandemic and associated government and health officer orders, Hutchins often required Chu and other employees to be physically present and there was no mandate that they undergo testing or wear face masks, according to the suit.
In March 2020, before arriving at the office, Chu and other employees exchanged messages agreeing they should not be going into work, the suit states. After they arrived at the office, the entire team talked about how the company should publicly respond to the pandemic and decision to work from home, the suit stated.
Hutchins said she would make an Instagram post informing the public that her employees would be working from home, but also expressed her dissatisfaction with the team doing so, the suit alleges. Hutchins also had a friend, who had just traveled from Chicago and was also at the office that day without a mask, despite having recently been at two major airports, the suit stated.
On May 1, 2020, Lumasol launched its product for sale to the public and Hutchins had a video conference with Wossen sitting next to her with no mask on, the suit stated.
“In a snarky manner and tone that meant to degrade other employees for not being present at the office, Ms. Hutchins thanked Mr. Wossen for being physically present with her,” the suit stated. “Ms. Hutchins' tone implied that the rest of the team did not care about launch day.”
Hutchins' attitude “made it clear that she did not appreciate the marketing team's decision not to be physically present on launch day as a result of COVID-19 safety,” the suit stated.
In June, Wossen sent an invitation to the entire team for a dinner and asked for restaurant recommendations, but Chu told Wossen and Hutchins she did not feel comfortable dining out during the pandemic, according to her court papers.
“Ms. Hutchins acted annoyed and angry that they did not want to go out to eat,” the suit stated.
Hutchins fired Chu in July 2020, despite praising her work and talent in an email, and directed the plaintiff to train her replacement for the next two weeks, according to the suit.
Hutchins subsequently hired three additional employees, all of whom are regularly present in the office on weekdays, have attended dinners and social gatherings with Hutchins and have been appeared in still and video images smiling and laughing while sitting close to each other and to Hutchins at the office, the suit stated.