Shegerian & Associates: Employee Rights Attorney on Race and Age Discrimination Lawsuit Against Saks Fifth Avenue

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, Dec. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Saks Fifth Avenue has been sued by eight former male employees citing race and age discrimination. The lawsuit, filed November 20th, 2018 in New York alleges the men could not advance at Saks due to a "glass ceiling" for people of color.

Some of the men claim that Saks set them up for a disadvantage by placing them in low traffic areas, thus reducing the amount of sales they could bring in to the flagship Manhattan store. "Although they were each committed to maintaining Saks' reputation as a luxury retailer by providing stellar customer service, their respective managers deliberately targeted them because of their race and/or age," the suit says. 

Plaintiff Derick Longley alleges that while working as a sales associate for Ralph Lauren Purple, another colleague instructed him to refrain from speaking "ghetto" and "in Ebonics." Longley claims that this colleague also barred him from receiving a promotion to "brand ambassador" as he did not have the "look." Longley is African-American.

Former employees cite a "hostile work environment." Plaintiffs Kenneth Taylor and Nixon McCray say they were both signaled out and were either berated or spoken to condescendingly by managers. Hispanic plaintiff Pablo Orozco, 54 says that managers made false accusations against him, one example being that a customer complained that Orozco had touched him inappropriately in a dressing room.

Two older plaintiffs, ages 68 and 70, claim that their supervisors overlooked them in an effort to support younger employees. Despite maintaining their sales, they were both fired.

Carney Shegerian, the founder of Los Angeles-based employee rights law firm Shegerian & Associates, has weighed in on the lawsuit.

"The allegations against Saks are indicative of the age discrimination older employees face in a wide range of industries," Shegerian says. "It's important that employees understand their rights and constitutes as harassment."

This is not the first time that Saks has faced a discrimination lawsuit. In 2016, five female servers at the flagship-located restaurant sued citing age discrimination. The servers claimed that the women all aged 40 and over, were terminated in favor of their younger, male counterparts. In 2015 Saks settled a lawsuit filed by a Houston-based transgender associate for being sexually harassed at work.

Hudson's Bay Company, the parent company of Saks, does not comment on pending litigation.

About Shegerian & Associates:
Shegerian & Associates has won clients over $200 million in employment-based disputes and maintains a 98% success rate. We have offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and New York. 

Media Contact:
Pace Public Relations
Caroline Kropke
[email protected]

SOURCE Shegerian & Associates

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