Valley pet store settles sexual harassment lawsuit

Bark If You’re Dirty, a pet store with locations in Phoenix and Scottsdale, will pay $340,000 and seek other injunctive relief to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency announced Aug. 23.

According to the lawsuit, a male manager at the Phoenix store and a male employee at the Scottsdale store continually sexually harassed female employees. The harassment included inappropriate sexual comments about female employees and customers, physical touching of female employees without their consent, sexual advances toward female employees, and showing nude photos of female employees.

Female employees complained about this harassment to management at both stores on multiple occasions over several years, but Bark If You’re Dirty, formerly known as Wag N’ Wash, failed to take immediate and appropriate action to stop the harassment, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit also alleges that Bark If You’re Dirty retaliated against certain female employees by firing them after they complained about the sexual harassment, the press release said.

Other female employees were forced to leave the company because they were severely affected by the sexual harassment they experienced and were left defenseless by management’s inaction, the press release said.