A woman has reached a tentative settlement in her lawsuit against Easter Seals Southern California Inc. in which she alleged that she was wrongfully fired from her job as a life skills coach at the Bellflower location in 2024 in retaliation for complaining that a female customer was sexually harassing her.
Plaintiff Josephine Gonzales also contended in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that she was targeted because she took time off to deal with gastroenteritis. Her attorney filed court papers on Monday with Judge Nicholas F. Daum notifying him of a “conditional” resolution in the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by May 16. No terms were divulged.
Gonzales filed suit in February 2025. In addition to sexual harassment, she alleged wrongful termination, retaliation, disability discrimination and failure to accommodate and engage in the interactive process.
In their previous court papers, Easter Seals attorneys denied Gonzales’ allegation and cited multiple defenses, including violation of the statute of limitations and that Gonzales consented to conduct over which she now complains.
Gonzales was hired as a life skills coach in the Bellflower location in February 2024. Throughout most of her employment, Gonzales was sexually harassed by a female client who began her misconduct by inappropriately touching the plaintiff, the suit stated.
Gonzales’ complaints to management were not acted upon, the suit further alleged. Gonzales took two leave of absences in 2024 because of gastroenteritis and the harassing customer continued her behavior when the plaintiff returned and still nothing was done by Easter Seals Supervisors, according to the suit.
Gonzales was put on a performance improvement plan in September 2024 and fired the next month, the suit states. Gonzales believes she lost her job because of her sexual harassment complaints and due to her need for health-related accommodations, the suit further states.