UNITE HERE Local 11: JC Resorts-Operated Los Serranos Golf Club Embroiled in Multiple Sexual Harassment Lawsuits

Resort Operated by Company That Previously Settled High-Profile Sexual Harassment Case

CHINO HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Four women who work at Los Serranos Golf Club, which is operated by JC Resorts, have filed two separate lawsuits alleging that the luxury golf club failed to protect them from an alleged serial sexual harasser who was the club’s Executive Chef for more than two decades. The four women are represented by Lauren Teukolsky of Teukolsky Law and Zoe Tucker of UNITE HERE Local 11.

According to the lawsuits’ allegations, the Executive Chef engaged in predatory sexual conduct towards young women he supervised. The complaints allege that the Executive Chef fixated on four young women, who were between the ages of 17 and 20 when they started working at the facility, calling them his “favorites,” telling them they were “beautiful,” hugging them when they arrived at work, and preparing them special meals and desserts almost daily. He allegedly told Plaintiff Ariana Tan, who is Filipina, that he “loved Asian women,” while he said that Plaintiff Reagan Cogburn, who is white, was “super pretty” but not “his type,” and that he could not see himself “dating” a white woman. The complaints further allege that he talked to other male employees about which of the four women was more attractive, comparing their hair and bodies. The complaints allege that Los Serranos failed to take proper corrective action after the women complained, and that the Executive Chef continues to work at Los Serranos to this day.

Ms. Tan says, “I was scared to tell anyone what my supervisor was doing because I am young and dependent on this job to survive. I want people to hear my experience and understand that they, too, can combat injustice in the workplace.” Plaintiff Jalyn Ito adds, “I am not willing to sweep this under the rug.”

Plaintiff Ms. Serna says, “I was devastated when I realized that I had been manipulated. It got even worse when I learned that management was going to force us to keep working with him. I felt anxious, heartbroken, ignored, mad, and helpless. I have a renewed hope that the legal system will do what Los Serranos would not.”

This is the second JC Resorts property to battle sexual harassment allegations in recent years. In 2018, the JC Resorts-owned Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes paid $250,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a dishwasher who was employed at the resort through a staffing agency. The worker who filed the lawsuit, Sandra Pezqueda, was honored by Time Magazine as one of the Silence Breakers whom it named its 2017 Person of the Year. A boycott of the Terranea called for by women's groups remains ongoing.

JC Resorts is one of the two firms that owns the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, and also operates resorts and golf courses like the Los Serranos Golf Club in Chino Hills, Cathedral Canyon Golf Club in Cathedral City and Surf and Sand Resort in Laguna Beach.

Most recently, JC Resorts and Daija Insurance Group spent $1.37 million to defeat Measure S in Laguna Beach, which would have required that hospitality workers be provided panic buttons to protect them from sexual assault and other threatening conduct when working alone in guest rooms and other isolated locations. In 2019, JC Resorts-owned Terranea Resort spent $1.25 million to defeat an initiative that, like Measure S, would have ensured hotel housekeepers had protections from workplace assault in Rancho Palos Verdes.

UNITE HERE Local 11 is a labor union representing over 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports