PHOENIX — A Valley pet store will pay $340,000 to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of female employees who reported being subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation.
Bark If You’re Dirty, a store with locations in Scottsdale and Phoenix, will enter into a three-year consent decree to resolve a lawsuit that accused the company of not protecting women from an uncomfortable workplace environment.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a male manager and an employee of the stores subjected female employees to physical touching, harassment, inappropriate comments, sexual propositions and naked photos being shown to them.
Female employees allegedly complained about the behavior for several years but no appropriate actions were taken to thwart the behavior.
Some workers resigned because of the inaction and others were terminated for complaining, the EEOC said.
Bark If You’re Dirty, formerly known as Wag N’ Wash, has agreed to not rehire the male manager and male employee who were accused of sexually harassing women.
The stores must also retain an independent consultant to train and educate employees on sex discrimination. The pet stores are operated by Teetszinty, LLC, and Teetszinty Holding LLC.
UP TO SPEED
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
