A woman who sued a West Hollywood pharmacy, alleging she was forced to quit in 2020 after management failed to implement any coronavirus safety measures and mocked her for wearing a mask at work, has reached a settlement with her former employer.
Angelica Dayrit also alleged in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit brought last Dec. 11 that Alex Sirota, owner of Curson Pharmacy, showed sexually explicit videos of gay male sex that offended her as a lesbian. Her lawsuit allegations included sexual orientation discrimination, sexual harassment, both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and wrongful constructive termination.
Dayrit’s lawyer, Danny Yadidsion, filed a notice of settlement with Judge John Doyle on Nov. 30. No terms were divulged. In their court papers, lawyers for Curson Pharmacy and Sirota denied Dayrit’s allegations and said she was not entitled to any damages.
Dayrit was hired at Curson Pharmacy in November 2015 as a pharmacy technician and paid $20 an hour, the suit stated. After the outbreak of the coronavirus, she found herself working in a confined space in which six feet of social distancing was not viable at the Santa Monica Boulevard business, according to her suit.
She donned a mask every day, but management refused to order everyone to do so, the suit alleged.
“Plaintiff was openly mocked and ridiculed for wearing a mask,” the suit stated. “Plaintiff complained about no one wearing masks, but no action was taken.”
Dayrit later found out that Sirota’s father exhibited symptoms of COVID-19, the suit stated. Although the elderly Sirota was tested, his son did not let the pharmacy employees know the results, according to the suit.
“Defendants put the employees’ lives in danger by refusing to enforce the mask mandate and refusing to disclose whether someone tested positive for COVID-19,” the suit stated. “Plaintiff was faced with the ultimate devastating truth: keep working for defendants and possibly die of COVID-19, or quit.”
Dayrit also alleged she was subjected to consistent sexual harassment and discrimination when Sirota discussed his sexual interactions with other men and showed sexually explicit images of men engaging in sexual acts with other males.
Sirota knew his conduct bothered Dayrit, a lesbian who had no interest in men, and he also referred to females as “just girls” or “just women,” implying they were inferior to men, the suit stated.
Dayrit suffered extreme emotional distress from her workplace experiences and resigned in July 2020, the suit stated.
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