| CONCORD — Seven former and current employees have sued an auto dealership, alleging wage theft and a hostile work environment where they were berated with racist and sexist slurs.In a lawsuit filed April 24 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the plaintiffs allege Lexus of Concord made employees pay state and federal taxes on inflated wages they weren’t paid, retaliated against employees who complained and wrongfully terminated two of them. The lawsuit further claims one defendant regularly used racial and gender epithets to describe dealership employees and customers.
The lawsuit seeks lost wages, $3 million in compensatory damages for each of the seven plaintiffs and $21 million in punitive damages.
Plaintiffs Kamal Dayekh, far left, former finance director, and Amanda Bo Denton, former internet sales manager, chat with their lawyers Charles Bonner, far right, and Karan Gill following a press conference held across Market Street from the Lexus on Concord dealership in Concord, Calif., on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. Seven current and former employees of Lexus on Concord have filed a $21 million lawsuit claiming wage theft among other things. The lawsuit also seeks $7 million in punitive damages against each of three mangers for maintaining a hostile work environment. (Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group) ( Dan Honda )
“We feel that it is just un-American to have to work in an environment that is just saturated with racist, homophobic and women-hating comments,”… |
