PHILADELPHIA - Prominent Philadelphia law firm Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky is asking a federal judge to toss a hostile work environment lawsuit brought against it by a former paralegal who made allegations of offensive comments and unwanted advances during her time there.
Yanez Perez sued the personal injury firm in April in Philadelphia federal court, alleging she was forced to quit after a short tenure littered with racism and hostility that led to a severe anxiety attack.
But Saltz Mongeluzzi on July 2 said her complaint merely alleges offhand comments that do not rise to the standard for a hostile work environment claim, plus she never experienced an adverse employment action by the firm and quit on her own during a firm-approved leave of absence.
"Moreover, Plaintiff concedes that SMB either promptly investigated and remedied Plaintiff's reported concerns about her non-managerial co-workers or that SMB was not on notice of the alleged harassing conduct," the motion to dismiss says.
Perez, an Afro-Latina, started at the firm on Aug. 8, 2022, as a paralegal and after only three months says she was subjected to a vulgar comment about having a daughter in the future. She reported it to HR and the file clerk was fired.
She says an IT analyst the same day mocked her by making finger guns and saying, "You're getting people fired around here." The same man later made fun of her hair, the suit says, saying it looks like "she stuck her finger in a socket."
In a conversation about a sports draft, he then allegedly told her "you people always get drafted first" and later commented on what he called "stripper shoes." It is also alleged he called her a “monkey.”
In November 2022, the man allegedly altered a self-affirmation note to say Perez is "not awesome" and put a steak knife next to the note. She never reported the alleged harassment, and the man was eventually transferred to a different floor.
But in May 2023, Perez's supervisor started showing an unwelcome interest in her personal life, the suit says, eventually leading to text messages and a pushy invite to an event at a winery.
Perez believed the invite, "in addition to her comments about her physical appearance were intended to determine her interest in a romantic and/or sexual relationship." She reported it to HR in June 2023.
A month later during an HR meeting, it was revealed someone had alleged Perez and her managing attorney were romantically involved. That attorney had denied the allegations.
A week later, an email from a fellow paralegal accused Perez of throwing "others under the bus." She says she suffered a "severe anxiety attack" and sought FMLA leave for treatment.
The firm approved the FMLA leave but Perez said she couldn't return to the office and resigned on Oct. 25, 2023.
Saltz Mongeluzzi says her race-based claims like being called a "monkey" must be tossed because they were filed after the two-year statute of limitations. She also missed her chance for a sexual harassment claim because she waited too long to file it with her EEOC charge, as required before bringing that type of claim in a lawsuit, the motion says.
And she missed the 180-day window to file her EEOC charge of discrimination, the firm says.
"To the extent Plaintiff asserts that her constructive discharge claims is timely... because she resigned in October 2023, such assertion is meritless," the motion to dismiss says.
"Plaintiff relies on no alleged discriminatory or harassing conduct that occurred after July 24, 2023, when she went on an approved medical leave of absence and never returned to work. And in any case... Plaintiff's constructive discharge claim fails because it is based on mere labels and conclusory assertions, rather than substantive factual allegations."
