A Louis Vuitton executive who was present at the signing of a White House bill for sexual harassment legislation claims he was fired after complaining about a co-worker who was “frustrating,” according to a federal lawsuit.
Andowah Newton, 49, an attorney for the luxe brand, said she suffered years of abuse at work and that the company responded after she testified before Congress about the bill.
“Testifying before Congress – and in front of my parents – about such a personal traumatic experience was terrifying but I knew I had to speak out on behalf of the millions of survivors across our country who daily face the kind of degradation, dehumanization, and retaliation that levied by Louis Vuitton on me for reporting sexual misconduct,” Newton told The Post about his testimony in November 2021.
Newton was invited to the White House and attended a bill signing with President Biden in March 2022.
Nine months later, Louis Vuitton fired Newton, it said in a Dec. 11 Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit against the company.
Andowah Newton was a White House guest when President Biden signed the “Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Enforcement Act.” The Washington Post via Getty Images Newton testified before Congress in November 2021 in favor of passing a bill that would prevent employers from requiring employees to arbitrate disputes related to sexual assault or harassment.
This is not the first time Manhattan residents have sued LVMH, the parent company, over sexual harassment in the workplace.
In 2019, she filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, claiming a co-worker often observed her and once said, “You’re so beautiful. And that beautiful smile, I can’t get enough of it,” according to court papers.
Another time, while talking to her in her office, the creepy co-worker “slammed” across her desk to use her phone, “poured her pelvis and privates into her face and pressed her body hard against him,” she said.
Andowah Newton, former VP at Louis Vuitton (white jacket) shares a smile with President Biden at the White House. Courtesy of Andowah Newton Newton and Biden at the White House bill signing ceremony. Courtesy of Andowah Newton
The boss claimed “that the harassment was just a byproduct of being an attractive woman working in a company with a French culture.”
An appeals court judge submitted the matter to arbitration. The matter is not over yet.
On March 3, 2022, President Biden officially signed the “Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Forced Arbitration Act” — the federal bill that Newton championed.
Andowah Newton, former VP at Louis Vuitton, greeted President Biden. Courtesy of Andowah Newton Newton, seen here with all his belongings on the day he was decommissioned. Courtesy of Andowah Newton
“Louis Vuitton should not have forced me to sacrifice my job and potentially my career, nor treated me inhumanely and humiliatingly, just for trying to keep myself and others safe and free from harassment in their office,” Newton said. to The Post.
Newton, who is seeking unspecified damages in federal court, said it was his hope that his case “being heard in open court rather than being forced into secret arbitration where the company has an excessive ‘home-court’ advantage” would level the playing field.
“The latest lawsuit is just another attempt by Ms. Newton to avoid court and arbitrator decisions and renew her meritless claims in court,” said LVHH spokeswoman Molly Morse.
He added that Newton’s “departure from LVMH was part of a restructuring of the North American legal department, which affected several employees, late last year.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
