A Sonova-owned company that is a leader in hearing loss care has reached a tentative settlement with a former janitor who alleged she was forced to resign in 2024 because management ignored her complaints that a male lab employee was constantly staring at her and making lewd comments.
Identified only as Jane Doe, the plaintiff also contended in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit filed against Advanced Bionics Corp. that her tormenter warned her that he had a gun in his car and that he in turn accused Doe of stalking and being sexually aggressive with him.
On Thursday, Doe’s attorneys filed court papers with Judge Michael Small notifying him of a “conditional” settlement in the case with the expectation that a request for dismissal will be filed by Nov. 2. No terms were divulged.
In their previous court papers, Advanced Bionics attorneys contended that Doe’s claims were barred by the statute of limitations and also by the doctrine of consent.
According to Doe’s suit filed last Dec. 27, the plaintiff was hired as a janitor in July 2023 and soon thereafter a male lab employee began staring at her nearly every time she walked by him and even gave her his phone number. She and another janitor complained to a supervisor, but the staring continued and the alleged harassment picked up with texts that included the man telling the plaintiff that he had a gun in his car, the suit stated.
Doe eventually felt “trapped” because management knew of the male employee’s alleged unlawful actions toward her and other women and did nothing to make them feel safe, the suit states.
After Doe fully confided in her husband what was happening at work with the male employee, her spouse in turn informed the plaintiff’s supervisor, the suit states. Soon thereafter, the fellow female janitor with whom she had previously made a complaint to management messaged the plaintiff’s daughter saying that the male worker had accused Doe of stalking and being sexually explicit with him, the suit states.
The alleged intolerable working conditions forced Doe to resign in late September 2024, according to her suit, which further states she has suffered financial losses and emotional distress since her resignation.