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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A former food and beverage manager for the L'Ermitage Beverly Hills hotel is suing the luxury establishment, alleging she was wrongfully fired in 2022 for complaining of sexual harassment by guests and the hotel's front office director.
The plaintiff also alleges she was sent to the room of a suicidal guest to remove sharp objects from the unit, where she found the patron naked and with cuts on her neck. Identified only as Jane Doe in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, the plaintiff alleges sexual battery and harassment, failure to prevent harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
She seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. A L'Ermitage representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Monday.
L'Ermitage is an eight-story hotel with 116 rooms, all of which are suites that average 805 square feet, making them the largest in the Beverly Hills hotel market. The units feature marble bathrooms, private balconies and separate dressing, sleeping and sitting areas.
Doe was hired as the hotel's food and beverage manager in March 2022 and began work a month later. In May 2022, a regular L'Ermitage guest asked the plaintiff about her dating life, telling her she would be happier with him, the suit states.
That same day, Doe told the hotel manager that the patron was making her uncomfortable by being overly flirtatious, but the manager did nothing to prevent the guest from harassing her again, the suit alleges.
The guest returned a month later with a female companion and when the woman went to the restroom, the man asked for Doe and later "grabbed her hand, gave her a $100 bill and telling her, "You will see me with a lot of beautiful girls, but I will always have my eyes on you," the suit states.
Doe complained about the guest again to the hotel manager, who took no action, so she then complained to a L'Ermitage bartender and several servers, the suit states. But the guest was allowed to return to the hotel at least three times and management did nothing as he continued demanding that the plaintiff personally serve him, the suit states.
Last July, the hotel general manager told Doe to remove sharp objects from the room of a suicidal guest, who when Doe encountered her was naked with fresh cuts to her neck, according to the suit, which further states that Doe found blood on the bed and floor. Doe was left emotionally shaken from the assignment, which she believed should have been handled by hotel security, the suit states.
Doe also was subjected to flirtatious remarks last summer from the L'Ermitage director of front office, who also inappropriately touched her, according to the suit.
In October, a guest complained that Doe was rude and even though the patron was intoxicated, the plaintiff was placed on a three-day coaching suspension, the suit states. When she returned, the front office director called her into his office, told her that it was his birthday and "opened his arms for her to hug him," which she did so reluctantly as to not embarrass him, the suit states.
Doe reported the front desk manager to the food and beverage supervisor, but again nothing happened, the suit states. She allegedly was again harassed that same month by another guest who asked her to wait on him and cook his eggs. Then, again that same month, the hotel manager reprimanded Doe, alleging that she had told a patron that she was annoyed over having to train a new employee, the suit states.
Doe denied making the statement to the guest, but she was fired a day later, according to the suit. When she tried to get a job at the Louis Vuitton store in Beverly Hills where she previously worked, she was given a poor and untruthful review by the L'Ermitage representative who spoke to the Louis Vuitton recruiting manager, the suit states.
Doe believes she was fired because of her harassment complaints, according to the suit, which further states that Doe continues to suffer financial hardship and emotional distress because of her job loss.