Woman Settles Lawsuit Alleging Fashion House Favored Gay Male Workers – MyNewsLA.com
A former employee of a French high-fashion house who worked at the company’s store in Beverly Hills has settled a lawsuit alleging she was fired for complaining about inappropriate remarks and conduct by management, including showing favoritism to young, male gay employees.
Lawyers for the retailer, Lanvin, filed court papers on Aug. 10 with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Steven Kleifield stating that plaintiff Gulmira Isacoff’s lawsuit was resolved. No terms were divulged.
Isacoff, 50, filed the suit on May 6, alleging wrongful termination, hostile work environment, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, failure to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation and various state Labor Code violations.
Isacoff was jointly employed by Lanvin “and/or” co-defendant Justworks Employment Group LLC, the suit stated. She was hired in October 2018 as a sales associate at the store on Rodeo Drive and soon became one of the store’s top producers, building relationships with several wealthy clients, according to the suit. But problems began for Isacoff in December 2019 with the hiring of Dean Salkin as a new assistant manager, a man who often lost his temper and yelled at the plaintiff and other female workers, the suit stated.
Salkin called Isacoff “lazy” and said she would be better off working at Macy’s, the suit alleged.
Believing the comments were sexist, Isacoff complained to the store manager, Jordyn Wells, and the company’s commercial director, Paolo Montorio, the suit stated. However, nothing was changed and Salkin continued his harassment, including making a lewd suggestion to the plaintiff about how she and her husband could celebrate Valentine’s Day 2020, the suit stated.
After hearing the inappropriate remark several more times, Isacoff reached her breaking point and said to Salkin, “Don’t you understand you’re offending and disrespecting me? Please stop. I am done with you,” according to the suit.
Although the company’s human resources representatives in Paris eventually fired Salkin, no one apologized to Isacoff or asked if there was anything they could do, the suit stated.
In June 2020, Lanvin hired a new store manager, lawsuit co-defendant David Leonti, who from the start seemed biased against Isacoff and treated her disparagingly whenever they interacted, including by saying he was “shocked” to see a woman as old as her working for Lanvin, the suit stated.
Isacoff eventually found that Leonti had a strong preference for young, male gay workers, treating them far better than any of the female heterosexual employees, the suit stated. When customers walked into the store, Leonti allegedly almost always directed them to two gay male workers and excluded Isacoff and other women from closing a sale.
“By contrast, (Isacoff) was immediately suspended and fired just because she had opposed Mr. Leonti’s discriminatory practices and complained about it,” the suit stated. “The juxtaposition is both shocking and telling.”
Lanvin is the third-oldest French fashion house still in operation.