The co-owner of New York nightclub Verboten has been sued by 16 of her employees in a class action lawsuit filed today in Brooklyn Federal Court, claiming she sexually harassed her customers on several occasions and failed to compensate her workers for months at a time, among other offenses. According to the lawsuit, Jen Schiffer, 40, encouraged workers to engage in threesomes, bragged about having sex with more customers than her husband, and yelled at one worker for booking a party of black attendees without consulting her first.
The nightclub, opened in 2014 and self-described as a “pro-woman company,” has experienced a longstanding series of inappropriate and unlawful treatment from the owner. Schiffer had consistently and openly discussed her sex life with her employees while at the N. 11th St. venue, according to the suit. Her boyfriend, Dylan Schwartz, was also alleged as having confronted Schiffer’s workers with sexual requests.
“Are you having a bad day? You should let me f— you.” – Schwartz to one female employee
Instead of reprimanding Schwartz for his inappropriate comments, Schiffer allegedly targeted the girls he had approached, out of jealousy.
Going even further, the suit claims that Schiffer yelled at employee Darrin Morda for booking a party attended by black patrons. She allegedly said the following:
“What are all these black people doing here? You cannot book a black-people party!”
The reason for this outcry, apparently, was that she had made a promise to police that she wouldn’t have any black people at the club. The party, she allegedly said, was a violation of this promise.
Finally, claims were made in the lawsuit that Schiffer and Schwartz had not paid wages for certain employees for months at a time.
Although Schiffer denied all of the suit’s claims, the 16 employees who back it seriously bring her behavior into question.
Source: NY Daily News
