Hotel owner preyed on female employees, including teens, in Hawaii, feds say
A hotel in Hawaii is being sued in connection with its owner’s alleged sexual harassment of female employees, including teenagers, and retaliation against those who spoke up, federal officials said.
The harassment started in at least 2015, according to a civil lawsuit filed May 15 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, which investigates and litigates employment discrimination.
The suit names Maui’s Paia Inn, plus other businesses owned by Michael Baskin, as defendants.
Attorney information for Baskin and his businesses wasn’t listed in online federal court records the morning of May 19.
McClatchy News left phone messages and an email for Baskin at Paia Inn on May 19 and was awaiting a response.
In a statement to Maui Now, a representative for Baskin said, “The allegations against Mr. Baskin are completely untrue and lack any merit whatsoever. We are confident that the truth will fully clear Mr. Baskin’s name, and we look forward to sharing more details when we are able,” according to the outlet.
The EEOC says Paia Inn broke federal law when Baskin “sexually harassed a class of young female employees and terminated those who complained or tried to address the rampant sexual harassment,” according to a May 15 news release announcing the lawsuit.
The release doesn’t name Baskin, but his name appears in the complaint filed in federal court.
The complaint contains multiple allegations against the hotel owner, including that he touched female workers without consent, demanded massages while naked, propositioned female workers for sexual acts, told female workers they “are hot” and “have a great butt,” and demanded female employees wear skimpier clothing to work.
An employee “who stood up for other female employees to stop the sexual harassment” was fired, and “other employees who complained about the sexual harassment were terminated or forced to quit their jobs,” EEOC officials said in the release, citing the complaint.
The EEOC tried to reach a settlement before filing the complaint, which seeks damages plus “injunctive relief against the employer to prevent such unlawful conduct in the future,” officials said.
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