A former employee of Vanderpump Dogs reveals in her lawsuit that she had informed Duarte's bosses about the alleged sexual harassment to no avail and eventually 'had no choice but to resign.'

• Jan 29, 2020

AceShowbiz - Lisa Vanderpump's dog foundation, Vanderpump Dogs, is facing a legal trouble after a former employee filed a lawsuit against the foundation. Damiana Guzman claimed that she was forced to quit after higher-ups ignored her complaints of sexual harassment.

Obtained by Radar Online, the legal documents were filed on January 24 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Guzman sued Vanderpump Dogs "unlawful harassment based on sex, gender, and sexual orientation," as well as "wrongful termination in violation of public policy by way of constructive discharge."

"Plaintiff worked for Defendant as a dog groomer for approximately two months until she was forced to resign in or about late July 2019 because of the intolerable working conditions created by her manager, Martin Duarte, and his superiors," she alleged in the court papers.

According to the documents, Duarte "engaged in a course and pattern of harassment based on Plaintiff's sex, gender, and sexuality. Examples include the following: Duarte mocked Plaintiff by calling her things such as a 'skinny no-a** fool,' and a 'flat-a** b***h.' He also told Plaintiff that he didn't know how her girlfriend could stand to be with her because she had no a**."

Additionally, Guzman accused the foundation's manager of taking swipes at her sexuality. She claimed, "Further, Duarte, who was aware of Plaintiff's sexual orientation, told her that he could turn her straight and that she had not found the right man on numerous occasions. He also claimed that he turned the mother of his child straight. Indeed, not a day went by where Duarte didn't make a comment about Plaintiff's body, her sexual preference, or his sexual prowess."

Guzman revealed that she had informed Duarte's bosses about the alleged sexual harassment to no avail. "They failed to take any meaningful action, so Plaintiff had no choice but to resign," she claimed in the docs. She also said that she received "offensive comments, criticism, lewd suggestions and remarks, requests for sexual favors, offensive sexual contact, and other abusive conduct based on her sex, gender, and sexual orientation that was severe or pervasive, altering the conditions of her employment."

She dubbed the conduct "unreasonably abusive and created an offensive and hostile work environment for Plaintiff and for any reasonable person in Plaintiff's position," adding that she's "suffered economic loss," "humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional distress" due to the alleged harassment.