A former Wells Fargo employee has filed a sexual assault lawsuit against both the bank and her former manager.

This Wells Fargo sexual assault lawsuit joins many lawsuits from adults who allege they were sexually abused. Many such lawsuits have been filed in recent years, as individuals attempt to stand up to what some consider a pervasive culture around sexual harassment and assault.

A former bank teller claims that she was raped by her manager at Wells Fargo. She has filed a lawsuit against both the manager and Wells Fargo, claiming that the company did not do enough to prevent harassment and assault. 

According to the bank teller, she was transferred to a branch managed by Antonio Perez when she was 20 years old and had worked at another Wells Fargo location for around a year.

According to NBC Bay Area, the teller says that on or around June 2, 2018, her manager and another Wells Fargo employee invited her out for drinks, despite the fact that she was underage. Allegedly, Perez slipped GHB, a rape drug, into one of her drinks.

She says she lost consciousness because of the drug, and woke up in Perez’s car. She says that he was raping her when she awoke. She says that she lost consciousness again, and woke up for the second time at Perez’s home, where he was raping again. The teller stresses that she said “no,” but could not resist Perez’s attack because she had been drugged.

The Wells Fargo sexual assault lawsuit goes on to say that the survivor went to the hospital the day after she was raped and had a rape kit administered. Allegedly, the doctors determined that she did have GHB in her body. 

The teller claims that she was affected by the rape not just physically, but emotionally and professionally. She says she has had thoughts of suicide as a result.

She says that her doctors advised her to not go back to her job at Wells Fargo, and she applied for benefits through Wells Fargo’s disability benefits program. She says that her claim was denied, and she was told that she should return to work. She says that she was told that Perez had been placed on leave.

According to the bank teller, she says that Perez’ actions created a hostile work environment, violating the Fair Employment and Housing Act. She is making claims of sexual harassment based on sex, sexual battery, sexual assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In her claims against Wells Fargo, the bank teller alleges that the bank did not take sufficient action to prevent her assault. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to legal costs.

Many sexual assaults have been filed in recent years. Some states have passed new laws in an attempt to better protect victims. The states include California and New York. New York had an influx of lawsuits after the Child Victims Act made it easier for adults who were sexually abused to file sexual assault lawsuits against alleged predators, reports USA Today.

The Los Angeles Times explains that a new California law gives victims more time to report abuses and assaults. The news source goes on to say that an increase in the number of sexual assault lawsuits filed in California by adults who were sexually abused is expected to increase in connection with the law change.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.