Guess settles sexual harassment suit for $30M

Guess sexual harassment settlement overview: 

• Who: Guess agreed to pay $30 million to a settlement fund for the company’s models. 
• Why: Co-founder Paul Marciano is accused of sexual harassment of Guess models, being accused of using the models as “his personal harem” according to Fortune.
• Where: The settlement was filed in Delaware Chancery Court.

Guess has agreed to a $30 million settlement with the company’s models over sexual harassment claims against co-founder Paul Marciano.

The settlement includes a $22 million payment from Guess while the company will sue its insurer for $8 million, according to Fortune.

Kate Upton is included in the group of models saying they reported the sexual harassment but were ignored as the board was accused of “continually ignoring an ongoing stream of continued allegations of P. Marciano’s predatory behavior” according to Law360.

Part of the lawsuit settlement is that Guess will change its corporate governance policies toward sexual harassment complaints while Guess board member and co-founder Maurice Marciano, Paul’s brother, will step down from the board.

“On behalf of our Board and our management team, I want to thank Maurice for his contributions and commitment to Guess and to recognize the incredible impact he has had on the fashion industry,” Guess board Chairman Alex Yemenidjian said in a statement. “We wish Maurice the very best and know that his legacy will continue on for many generations to come.”

Guess also paid $1 million to settle lawsuits in 2022 from a pair of models who accused Paul Marciano of abusing them. The $22 million from the recent settlement is scheduled to be paid within 10 days of the settlement’s approval by Delaware Chancery Judge Lori Will, Fortune said.

Sexual harassment and assault accusations date back to 2009 at Guess, filing claimed

Accusations against Paul Marciano date back to as early as 2009, when a model accused Marciano of sexual assault to the Guess human resources department and was told “this is not the first time this has happened with Mr. Marciano,” according to Law360.

The accusations from Upton and others date back to 2018; Marciano was accused of both sexual harassment and sexual assault, Law360 reported.

Guess reached a 2018 class action lawsuit settlement, which is now closed, saying the company deceptively advertised false reference prices on merchandise sold in Guess Factory stores in the state of California.

Have you ever been sexually harassed at work? Let us know know in the comments.

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