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Urban Outfitters Employee Says Management Shrugged Off Upskirt Incident
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Aug 12, 2014
Modified Aug 12, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Aug 12, 2014
Modified Aug 12, 2014
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Manufactured hipster clothing conglomerate and future barstaurant empire Urban Outfitters is no stranger to controversy, having wracked up complaints and lawsuits from the Navajo Nation, the Anti-Defamation League and Irish groups, to name a few. Now, one former employee at a Fifth Ave store is suing the company, alleging store management and security did nothing to help her when customers licked, groped and shot up-skirt photos of her.
According to the suit, 25-year-old Tatiana Swiderski began working at the Urban Outfitters outpost at Fifth Ave near 43rd Street in September, shortly after moving to New York from Los Angeles. Early on in her employment, however, Swiderski says she was subject to various forms of harassment, both from store management and from customers.
In November, according to the suit, a man was ejected from the store after he was allegedly snapped upskirt photos of Swiderski and another employee. "He was following us repeatedly up and down the stairs and just sticking the camera up our skirts," she told the Daily News. However, cops were never notified, according to the suit, and the man was not arrested; when Swiderski complained to the security guard, he allegedly mocked her and asked her, "What are you wearing under your skirt?"
After she complained repeatedly to management, the security guard allegedly told her to "stop being a stupid bitch" and told her, "next time I won't be here to protect you." The suit also claims that a security guard "insisted on performing pat-downs" on her soon after that incident, which Swiderski believed were sexually inappropriate and not administered to any other employees.
In another incident, a customer allegedly grabbed Swiderski's top lip, told her he wanted to "see her teeth," then "licked her face" and "grabbed the front of my dress and tried to pull my chest out of it," according to the suit. Once again, the store did not notify police, and instead transferred Swiderski to the "unheated" stock room, allegedly telling her, "At least now people can’t molest you." Swiderski also claims a male manager made lewd comments toward her.
Swiderski, who says she's afraid to be out in public now, is suing for unspecified damages. A spokesperson with Urban Outfitters told us that the company "abhors unlawful discrimination and harassment and has policies which prohibit such conduct in the workplace. The Company takes these matters very seriously and is currently investigating the allegations made in the complaint."
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Rebecca Fishbein
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