This past March Shelly Scott and Gillian Walker filed a lawsuit in San Diego County Superior Court alleging that that they were “subjected to quid pro quo sexual harassment at the hands of their supervisors… and a sexually hostile work environment”.
One of Gerber's business partners and another man have also been named in the suit.
The women were working as waitresses at a restaurant owned by Gerber's company and claim to have lost their jobs after rejecting the advances made by Gerber and other managers.
On one occasion in 2008, Gerber had allegedly attempted to kiss one of the women thrice, before putting his hand up [her] dress in between her legs in an attempt to fondle her crotch”.
Such sexual harassment made the work environment “abusive,” said the two women.
The women also said that they reported the matter to Gerber Group’s human resources, but the department “continually refused to acknowledge that such practices were occurring at the Gerber bars.”
However, the company has simply rebuffed the allegations.
On Friday afternoon, a rep for Gerber said the accusations of those ex-employees were “baseless”.
“These allegations were previously investigated and shown to be baseless,” a rep for the businessman told TMZ. “This lawsuit has no merit.”
Gerber is the owner of the Midnight Oil chain of bars and lounges. He has been married for 11 years and has two kids, Presley, 9, and Kaia, 7.
Looks like things are going to get tough at home now.
This is not the first time that Gerber has been reported to get involved in sexual practices outside his home. Back In 2004, another woman, who was also a waitress at one of his establishments, openly claimed that she had spent the night with him.
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