If you live in a big enough city, you’re going to have two different kinds of malls: the one with a Walmart in it, and the one with all the upscale brands. One with clearance stores, and one with stores that don’t have clearance racks. You know the ones.
And while the stuff at those high-end stores tends to be high-quality, lasting stuff, their brands are all about image. For one of them, the brand’s image is taking a bit of a beating thanks to an employee’s lawsuit.
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Louis Vuitton is the latest of the grand fashion houses to find itself under fire in recent months, and the heat is coming from within.
Specifically, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey (LMVH) – parent company of such brands as Sephora, Dior, and Marc Jacobs as well – has been accused by an executive of ignoring sexual harassment, passing it off as “French culture.”
Andowah Newton, a lawyer and VP of legal affairs for LVMH, alleges that years of sexual harassment from another employee went unaddressed.
According to New York Magazine , Newton filed a lawsuit that outlines some pretty abhorrent behavior, and an appalling lack of action from her superiors.
Newton’s accusations might be all-too familiar to all-too many people out there.
In her lawsuit, Newton says her harasser, an unnamed senior level employee, would “leer” at her, and once “lunged” at her while “thrusting his pelvis and genitals into her face.”
She also says that he frequently tried to kiss her either in greeting or celebration.
Newton says she tried to address the matter on her own several times.
She says that she brought the matter up with in-house counsel several times between 2015 and 2018.
And when she spoke with the company’s director of talent about it, she was told that kissing was “what executives do in a French company, suggesting that Ms. Newton was unfamiliar with French culture and should simply tolerate the behavior.”
Never mind that nobody involved was actually French.
Finally, Newton filed a formal complaint in May 2018.
And so LVMH did launch both an internal and a third-party investigation that failed to uncover any wrongdoing.
However, Newton claims that the investigation was only undertaken “reluctantly” and that it was all a “sham” trying to maintain the company’s image.
As if that’s not bad enough, Newton’s filing gets even more concerning.
She says that she was punished for “unjustifiably attacking” her harasser, and that the company retaliated by promoting him ahead of her and giving her bad performance reviews.
This, after 16 years with the company, which would certainly make her familiar with the culture in a French business.
So what does Newton hope to gain from her lawsuit?
The suit itself is seeking unspecified damages, and according to Newton’s lawyer, Carolynn Beck, she “hopes to promote change to the culture.”
“LVMH should be ashamed of itself for prioritizing its image above the safety of its employees,” Beck said, according to the New York Post .
LVMH has responded to Newton’s lawsuit, denying her allegations.
“There is no merit whatsoever to the allegations in Ms. Newton’s suit. LVMH has clear policies prohibiting harassment and retaliation in the workplace and procedures to address any concerns raised,” the company said in a statement, also claiming the person Newton accused was on the facilities staff and not a senior level employee.
