Cameron Poetzscher, head of corporate development at Uber is being accused of sexual harassment by his former nanny, and as if that’s not enough, she also claims that he was paying her wages below the legal limitations.
According to a lawsuit filed by Julieta Yang who was previously employed by Poetzcher and his wife, Poetzcher carried poor habits of masturbating, exposing himself and requesting inappropriate massages and “handwork” from her.
Yang says that she complained to Varsha Rao, the wife of Poetzscher; but Rao who is the head of global operations at Airbnb, did little to stop the harassment. Yang was originally hired seven years ago, when the couple lived in Singapore. Back then, Poetzscher would ask her to rub lotion on his back and he would offer extra cash for her to give him massages which Yang says, she turned down. After moving to San Francisco two years ago, Poetzcher then asked Yang to massage his legs with a rolling pin but apologized afterward, saying that he was not supposed to act that way in the United States.
Poetzcher’s harassing behavior continued and he also asked Yang to keep quiet about it and not tell his wife. But Yang who could no longer withstand the abuse, quit this past spring according to the suit.
Poetzcher said in a statement “We are both deeply shocked and saddened by these allegations, which are completely and utterly false. Julieta worked as our nanny for seven years and was an important part of our family, someone both our children loved deeply. Julieta left in April, and we have not heard from her since then. We will make no further comment about this case.”
Sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sexual harassment comes in many different forms; it includes requests for sexual favors, unwelcome sexual advances and other physical or verbal conduct of a sexual nature. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been set up to protect employee rights against sexual harassment and other conduct that would constitute working in a hostile job environment.
Here are just a few pointers to remember when it comes to NY, NJ, and Pa sexual harassment:
- Harassment does not have to be sexual in nature; it can be offensive remarks about a person’s sex.
- Both the victim and the harasser can be either a man or a woman, and the victim and harasser can also be the same sex.
- While the law does may not prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments or isolated incidents, harassment crosses the line to being illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in a negative employment action (such as the employee being terminated or demoted)
- The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor from another area, a coworker or someone who is not employed by the company, such as a customer or client.
Whether you work as a nanny or another type of childcare provider, or whether you work in an office, a company or somewhere else, if you believe you have been the victim of NYC, NJ, PA workplace sexual harassment or discrimination, our team of NYC, NJ, PA sexual harassment lawyers strongly urge you to reach out to our law firm today for a free consultation.
The New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia sexual harassment attorneys at the Derek Smith Law Group, PLLC handles numerous cases of employment discrimination that involve sexual harassment in NY, NJ, and Pa. Sexual Harassment is gender-based discrimination and it is illegal. For further information, please feel free to call us at 800-807-2209 for a free consultation or click here to schedule a free consultation.
