A female former dispatcher for Allied Universal Security Services has tentatively settled her lawsuit against her ex-employer in which she alleged he was forced to resign in 2023 because of offensive workplace misconduct, including someone leaving a lipstick in her locker that was molded in the shape of a man’s private parts.
Judith Nava Lua’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleged constructive termination, harassment, retaliation, failure to prevent harassment and/or retaliation, civil rights violations and intentional infliction of emotional distress. On Wednesday, Lua’s attorneys filed court papers with Judge Stephen P. Pfahler notifying him of a “conditional” resolution of the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by May 31. No terms were divulged.
In their court papers, Allied attorneys denied Lua’s allegations and cited multiple defenses, including violation of the statute of limitations and that the plaintiff was not subjected to severe or pervasive harassment.
Lua, 31, was hired last May 25 as a dispatcher at $22 per hour. During her time with the firm, the three individuals who supervised her “showed little concern for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace,” the suit filed Jan. 2 alleged.
On June 14, 2023, Lua found a lipstick in her locker that was molded into an “inappropriate and offensive” mold of a man’s private parts and its sexually suggestive shape was “clearly intended to make her uncomfortable,” the suit stated.
Lua reported the lipstick finding to two of her bosses, who assured her that they would bring the matter to the attention of the account manager, who later that day asked the plaintiff to come to his office, the suit stated.
After Lua showed the account manager how she found the lipstick, he began making dismissive and insensitive comments, including, “In my five years of working here, this has never happened to any woman” while adding, “There is no reason for anyone to put this there at all. I don’t think anyone would put this in there; it’s impossible that this is what happened here.”
The account manager also said there were no previous complaints about employees stealing from lockers or placing items inside of them, implying that Lua was at fault, the suit stated.
Lua, surprised by the account manager’s attitude, told him that just because something had not occurred before did not mean it was impossible for it to happen, the suit stated. The account manager said he was through talking about the issue, warned her she could be accused of insubordination and threatened to call the police to investigate whether Lua staged the incident, the complaint stated.
Lua, left “bewildered and distressed” by the account manager’s reaction, broke down in tears, according to the complaint.
Lua subsequently experienced a noticeable change in her treatment by the account manager, who would summon her into his office after her shift was over and require her to stay another three hours, where he would harass her about the lipstick matter and her future with the company, the suit stated.
The firm’s operations manager later put Lua on unpaid leave and said she would not be returned to work until her claims were investigated, but not hearing from the company for two weeks, Lua turned in a resignation letter last July 23, the suit stated.
“I had hoped my concerns would be addressed more effectively, but it seems the situation is not getting any better,” Lua wrote, according to the lawsuit. “Please send me my final paycheck.”