A Hyundai manufacturing plant in Montgomery was sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last week after allegations were made against a general manager stating that he was sexually harassing and assaulting female employees at work and also in his apartment.
The alleged perpetrator, Joung Ho Kim is being held accountable for sexually assaulting two females, playing pornography in front of them, and threatening their job security at Hyundai. The suit is filed against Sys-Con rather than Kim due to the fact that the company does not provide a zeo tolerance harassment policy or any outlets for complaints of this type of behavior. The EEOC declared that a hostile work environment was created due to the lack of civil rights laws which would protect female employees from harassment.
Attorney, Whitney Brown representing Sys-Con released a statement claiming the company is “committed to providing a workplace free of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. Sys-Con firmly denies the allegations of the EEOC’s suit and is disappointed by the EEOC’s decision to file suit in this matter,” Brown said. “While we had hoped it would not be necessary, the Company welcomes the opportunity to defend itself before a court of law.”
The suit alleges that the female victims native in Mixtec, which is a language spoken in the south of Mexico. Being that Sys-Con is a Korean based company, the women were unable to make proper complaints because they do not speak English, Spanish or Korean. However, they were able to make complaints directly to their administrative staff, unfortunately no action to was taken to put a stop to Kim’s inappropriate sexual advances.
“They had no means to communicate with higher management who speak English or Korean to report harassment other than through administrative staff who could provide translation,” the suit states.
On one terrifying occasion, Kim lured one of the female employees into his apartment where he had promised her his family would be present. Upon entering, he forced her onto a bed and raped her.
“Thereafter, on multiple occasions, Mr. Kim threatened (her) if she told anyone
about the sexual assault. He continued to ask her for sexual favors throughout her employment and she denied his demands,” the suit states. “Thereafter, on multiple occasions, while (she) cleaned Mr. Kim’s office, Mr. Kim exposed his penis to (her) and played pornographic movies on his mobile phone. (She) did not welcome this conduct and found it offensive, demeaning, threatening and terrifying given his prior sexual assault of her.”
The suit seeks compensation for the females for lost work as well as punitive damages for Kim’s conduct. There is also a request for a court mandated order for Sys-Con to implement policies and procedures that are in correlation with equal employment rights.
If you have been a victim of any type of harassment at your place of work whether it be sexual or any kind of discrimination, please call the employee rights attorneys at Alonso Krangle LLP at 800-403-6191 or through our website at www.fightforvictims.com. Any unwanted and offensive behavior toward you can result in financial compensation. Please do not hesitate. Call us today to review your legal rights.