Sexual harassment and racial harassment tend to get treated as separate problems, as though an employer can only be liable for one or the other. Our client’s case against Nissan of Torrance is a reminder that they often aren’t separate at all — sometimes it’s the same supervisor, the same months-long pattern, and conduct that crosses both lines at once.
Nearly Four Years on the Job Before Everything Changed
Our client sold cars at Nissan of Torrance for close to four years, starting in October 2020. His direct supervisor was the dealership’s Sales Manager.
Court records describe a specific turning point: on or about September 14, 2024, his supervisor blocked our client’s path as he tried to walk by, then pressed his genital area against our client’s backside and told him, “you liked that.” Our client left immediately, visibly shaken. The next day, his supervisor told him he’d “gotten hard” thinking about it.
What Followed Wasn’t a One-Off
According to the complaint, that wasn’t an isolated lapse — it was the start of a pattern that blended sexual harassment with racist, threatening language. His supervisor reportedly pulled his own pants down at work in front of our client on multiple occasions. He called our client, who is Black, “Jamie Foxx” — invoking Foxx’s role as an enslaved man in Django — and directed a similar comment at another Black coworker. He told employees “all you brothers are gay” and “I know you guys play both sides of the field,” and remarked that he knew a gay coworker “liked him.” When our client was wrongly blamed for a paperwork mistake in August 2024, his supervisor told him “I know how guys like you are” and threatened to punch his teeth out — a comment our client understood as racially charged, not just an angry overreaction.
He Raised It With Management. Nothing Changed.
Our client verbally flagged the harassment, including his supervisor’s repeated pants-pulling incidents, to two members of management. The complaint alleges the company took no action in response.
A Promotion Denied, Allegedly Because He Spoke Up
Our client had been asking for a promotion he’d earned. Instead, the complaint alleges, he was passed over — both because of his race and because he had reported harassment and discrimination. Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), punishing an employee for reporting harassment is its own violation, separate from the harassment itself.
Leaving the Only Way He Could
By mid-September 2024, our client felt he had no real choice left. Afraid of continuing to work near his supervisor and worn down by conditions he says no reasonable employee should have to tolerate, he resigned on or about September 18, 2024 — a resignation the law treats as a constructive termination when conditions leave no reasonable alternative.
Before he left for good, he told the company’s CFO directly why he was going: sexual and racial harassment, and discrimination. The complaint alleges that disclosure went nowhere too.
Now in Front of a Judge
Filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, our client’s lawsuit against Nissan of Torrance, LLC and his supervisor individually raises five claims under FEHA: harassment and hostile work environment, race and sex discrimination, failure to investigate or prevent harassment, retaliation, and constructive wrongful termination. The case is active, and we’ll post updates as it develops.
If This Sounds Familiar
The specifics of this case belong to our client, but the shape of it doesn’t. A few things worth knowing if part of this rings a bell:
- Same-sex harassment is still sexual harassment. California law doesn’t require the harasser and the person harassed to be different genders or different sexual orientations for a claim to hold up.
- Racist remarks don’t need to stand alone to count. Comments invoking slavery, race-based stereotypes, or threats of violence can support a claim even when they’re tangled up with other misconduct.
- One person’s conduct can violate more than one law at once. Sexual harassment and racial harassment aren’t mutually exclusive categories — an employer can be on the hook for both from the same set of facts.
- A verbal complaint to a manager is still a complaint. You don’t need an HR portal or a written memo for a report to matter down the line.
- Watch the timing around promotions and discipline. Being passed over shortly after raising a harassment complaint is exactly the kind of pattern retaliation law is built to catch.
- Say why you’re leaving, even at the very end. Telling your employer your real reason for resigning, even in an exit conversation, can become part of the evidence of what they knew.
If any of this sounds like what’s happening at your job, you don’t have to sort it out alone. Makarem & Associates offers free consultations to talk through what happened, what your options are, and what a next step could look like. Reach out — we’re here to help.
This article is based on allegations in a complaint filed in court. Those allegations haven’t been proven, and the defendants are entitled to contest them. Our client’s name has been withheld to protect his privacy. Nothing here is legal advice — if you’re facing something similar, talk to an attorney about your specific situation.
