Morgan Hill – A former employee of Morgan Hill-based Sharp Precision Manufacturing has triggered a civil rights lawsuit against the company, alleging sexual harassment and discrimination of her Mexican American heritage.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed the suit Sept. 29 in federal court, Sharp Precision CEO Chuck Trimble commented on the appearance and size of female employees’ breasts and called women “bitches” and Hispanic employees “beaner” and “wetback.”
Trimble emphatically denies the charges. He said his accuser is a “disgruntled” former employee seeking retaliation after being laid off in 1999.
“There was never a formal complaint made to my HR department before she was let go,” Trimble said. “This is a bogus deal.”
The impetus for the suit were complaints made to the commission by Anna Valdez McAllister, a former office manager at Sharp Precision.
Trimble’s attorney Rona Layton said the commission’s lawsuit comes as a surprise. She said the last contact the commission had with Layton’s office regarding McAllister’s complaints was more than a year ago.
“That’s pretty offensive that they would put that in a press release” without letting us know, Layton said. “We certainly do not agree (with the charges). If you look at the complaint, there were no specific allegations.”
The actual court filing is more vague than the commission’s press release. It says the alleged harassment began in 1999 and consisted of “unlawful practices,” including harassment on the basis of sex and national origin, which created a “hostile work environment.”
The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose.
Sharp Precision makes components for the semi conductor industry. In 2005, the company moved from San Jose to Morgan Hill. It currently has about 65 employees.
The lawsuit against Sharp Precision is one of three Bay Area cases announced this week by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. One case charges that a female cook at a Redwood City Sizzler was sexually harassed and humiliated for being Mexican. The other case alleges that supervisors at Hammon Plating Corporation of Palo Alto harassed female and Hispanic employees.
All three cases seek unspecified monetary damages, training on anti-discrimination laws, posting of notices at the work site and other injunctive relief.
“It is unconscionable that an owner of a company would abuse his power and mistreat his employees,” said Bill Tamayo, the commission’s regional attorney.
Trimble said the case is “frivolous” and would hurt his bottom line.
“It’s going to cost me more money to fight it than for me to pay her,” he said.
Most charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission don’t go to court. In 2005, the commission filed 281 suits nationwide after finding evidence of civil rights violations in the workplace in just 8 percent of reported cases.
Marcia Mitchell, senior trial attorney for the commission, said her agency filed the suit after conducting an investigation that included interviewing other employees at Sharp Precision. The lawsuit is open to others who may want to join.
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@*************es.com.
