Topgolf Las Vegas cases triggered national study on sexual harassment

A survey of much than 70 existent and erstwhile Topgolf employees astatine 28 flagships recovered that a “pattern and signifier of intersexual harassment” is “pervading the full corporation,” according to a caller report.

The 23-page study — titled “Stopgolf” — was published this period by One Fair Wage and Survivors Know pursuing astir 9 months of probe that was prompted by a radical of erstwhile Topgolf Las Vegas room employees who spoke retired publically against the company.

At slightest 5 individuals person accused former sous cook Silvino Hinojosa of intersexual harassment oregon abuse. Four of them sued Topgolf, accusing the institution of a “fratboy” civilization that protected and enabled a “serial intersexual predator.” The national lawsuits were settled retired of tribunal past month, records show.

“This study would not beryllium but for them,” their attorney, James J. Lee, said. “I’m successful awe of the idiosyncratic courageousness it took for them to beryllium consenting to talk astir thing that was truthful difficult.”

Among the report’s cardinal findings:

— Fifty-four percent of respondents reported being sexually harassed portion moving astatine Topgolf.

— Twenty-seven percent reported being sexually assaulted. That fig jumped to 50 percent for women of colour younger than 50.

— Every Black, Indigenous and Hispanic pistillate younger than 50 who participated successful the probe reported being sexually harassed astatine work.

— Almost 55 percent of women reported accrued harassment and/or hostility successful the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study besides includes accusation gathered from 12 ineligible cases against the company, including the 2 lawsuits filed by Lee successful Nevada, and cites reporting by the Review-Journal, the archetypal quality outlet to people stories astir the alleged moving conditions astatine Topgolf Las Vegas, wherever intersexual harassment and maltreatment ran rampant successful the kitchen, according to tribunal documents.

The astir superior accusations elaborate successful the Review-Journal’s stories included claims that Hinojosa, the sous chef, lured prep navigator Elba Servin to a vacant location and raped her successful June 2016 and that helium assaulted pastry cook Ciara Williams wrong a walk-in freezer successful Topgolf’s room a twelvemonth later. Their allegations led to transgression charges.

Williams — the archetypal of Hinojosa’s accusers to talk retired — released her archetypal nationalist connection Thursday since coming guardant publically with her allegations past October.

“To this time it hurts truthful badly,” Williams wrote successful her connection to the Review-Journal, adding that she “was damaged, tainted, ashamed.”

The connection continued: “My extremity for 2022 is to punctual myself that adjacent successful the darkest parts of my life, determination is ever different time and that 1 time I volition find my crushed to spell guardant successful beingness without the pain, nightmares, and changeless feeling of hopelessness.”

‘It haunted me’

The quality stories led different erstwhile Topgolf workers to interaction the lawyer representing Servin and Williams.

“It truly each started with Ciara and Elba,” Lee said this week.

Among those to scope retired was Samantha Velasquez-Knowles, whose employment astatine Topgolf Las Vegas successful 2016 overlapped with that of Servin and Williams.

Her acquisition moving astatine the Las Vegas flagship is elaborate successful the caller study by One Fair Wage and Survivors Know.

According to the report, a room manager followed her into a walk-in freezer, wherever helium sexually assaulted her. Another workfellow who witnessed the alleged battle “reported it to Topgolf’s Human Resources department,” the study states. Not agelong after, Velasquez-Knowles was fired successful what she says was an enactment of retaliation by the company.

“I didn’t privation to get the constabulary progressive due to the fact that I was scared. I was conscionable betrayed by authorities astatine Topgolf, and truthful I was excessively scared,” Velasquez-Knowles, present 26, told the Review-Journal. “Ever since then, it has haunted me. It haunted maine for truthful long.”

By the clip she came crossed 1 of the quality stories this year, astir 4 years had gone by since her termination. All that time, she said, she had “no idea” that others had experienced akin attraction and alleged maltreatment portion moving for the company.

“I started crying. I wanted to scope retired to them,” she said, referring to Servin and Williams. “I wanted to outcry with them, and besides fto them cognize thing similar this happened to me, too. And that they weren’t alone.”

In all, Velasquez-Knowles was employed by Topgolf for nether 6 months. But the little model of employment would dramatically change her life’s people successful the years that followed.

An aspiring chef, Velasquez-Knowles had attended culinary schoolhouse anterior to moving astatine Topgolf with large dreams to 1 time unfastened a edifice oregon enactment arsenic a backstage chef.

Topgolf, she said, “killed that” for her.

She and her son, who was 1 astatine the clip of her termination, present unrecorded successful Virginia, wherever she works successful transportation services.

“I’ve taken a measurement backmost from the culinary field,” Velasquez-Knowles said.

But with assistance and enactment from Survivors Know, which has connected her and different erstwhile Topgolf employees to signifier a “solidarity circle,” Velasquez-Knowles said she’s started to ideate a aboriginal for herself successful the culinary manufacture erstwhile again.

Maybe successful a tiny cafe, she said, oregon a nutrient truck.

“I privation to unfastened up a spot wherever it’s safe,” she told the Review-Journal. “Where it’s fair.”

‘Not going away’

Topgolf did not respond to a petition for remark astir the precocious published report, but successful an April connection to the Review-Journal said the allegations “certainly are not typical oregon reflective of Topgolf, our associates oregon our culture.”

“Let america beryllium wide that immoderate benignant of harassment has perfectly nary spot astatine Topgolf, and we person robust policies and procedures successful spot that prohibit this benignant of behavior,” the connection continued.

JoEllen Chernow, co-director of Survivors Know, said neither of the organizations down the caller study had heard from Topgolf arsenic of this week. But Chernow said she’s hopeful that volition alteration erstwhile the organizations scope retired to the company’s shareholders and investors with their findings.

“We’re not going away,” Chernow said, adding that “this is truly an effort calved retired of survivors who truly privation to marque Topgolf a spot wherever radical consciousness harmless and wherever they tin thrive.”

The study concludes with a database of “structural changes” that survey respondents said they wanted to spot hap wrong the company, including the implementation of an morals oversight committee and a monthly survey that would assistance the committee “identify and forestall harassment issues.”

One tin work the afloat “Stopgolf” study astatine www.survivorsknow.org.

Meanwhile, Hinojosa, the sous cook astatine the halfway of the Las Vegas cases, remains jailed astatine the Clark County Detention Center arsenic helium awaits sentencing successful an unrelated intersexual battle lawsuit that prosecutors person said progressive a 4-year-old victim.

As portion of a deal with prosecutors, Hinojosa pleaded nary contention successful August to attempted intersexual battle and kid abuse. The plea bargain, upon sentencing adjacent month, volition resoluteness the 2 pending transgression cases stemming from the attacks connected Servin and Williams.

Contact Rio Lacanlale astatine rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale connected Twitter.