As Chris Berman would say, once is an accident and twice is a trend. Or something.
Last month, former Rams equipment manager Todd Hewitt sued the team for age discrimination. Now, former executive assistant Lory Fabian has sued the Rams and executive V.P. of sales and marketing Bob Reif. Fabian alleges age discrimination and sexual harassment, according to Robert Patrick of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Fabian specifically claims that the Rams have been shedding “middle-aged women” and replacing them with “‘young inexpensive grinders’ who could handle the long hours of NFL employment.” She says that coach Steve Spagnuolo and COO Kevin Demoff targeted older employees for termination, and that Demoff told Fabian that “no one liked her” and that she was “too old for her job.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Fabian was subjected to unwanted touching by Reif, and that the Rams retaliated against her for complaining about it.
These are only allegations, but any organization facing multiple lawsuits making similar claims should be concerned about the situation -- especially since more former employees could choose to follow suit by filing suit.