12 Sept 12th-Sept 18th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Pet Shop Problems Bark If You’re Dirty pays $340K to settle sexual harassment case. BY MORGAN FISCHER V alley pet supply shop Bark If You’re Dirty is known for its fresh-baked treats, charitable efforts and cheap grooming prices. But for years, it turned a blind eye to rampant sexual harassment in its two Phoenix- area stores. Since 2017, according to a lawsuit filed last year by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, several female staffers reported they’d endured repeated sexual harassment from male employees. That harassment included making “sexu- ally charged comments” as well as “nude photos, unwelcome physical touching and sexual propositioning.” In multiple cases, the EEOC said, the company minimized or ignored those reports and retaliated against the women who made them. On Aug. 23, the EEOC announced a court-enforced settlement in the case that, among other provisions, requires Bark If You’re Dirty to pay $340,000 that will be distributed among several women who used to work for the company. “This case shows that lack of compliance with laws that prohibit employment discrimi- nation can be costly,” Phoenix EEOC District Director Melinda Caraballo said in a press release. However, in an emailed statement to Phoenix New Times, Bark If You’re Dirty co-owner Steve Strauss said the company admits no wrongdoing and agreed to the settlement “in an effort to move forward.” Additionally, Strauss said that while Bark If You’re Dirty “respect(s) their mission” of “protecting employees’ rights,” the company believes that “the process was misused and mishandled.” Strauss added, “The EEOC intention- ally interfered with a small business with prolonged, continuous and costly legal fees, ignored evidence and harassed our staff to create a narrative of an unsafe workplace. This was and is not at all what our company culture represents.” Opened in 2006, the pet supply store formally known as Wag N’ Wash provides in-store self-serve dog wash services. It also has a retail space stocked with food, toys and treats available for purchase. The locally owned business, which has a Phoenix location and a store in Scottsdale, has been popular among Valley pet owners since it opened in 2006. It has made Phoenix New Times’ Best of Phoenix list several times, winning Best Dog Wash in 2023 and Best Pet Supplies in 2021 and 2019. In his statement, Strauss said Bark If You’re Dirty has “always been committed to maintaining a fair, inclusive, and respectful workplace for all employees.” However, the EEOC’s complaint described a “hostile work environment” at both loca- tions that company’s higher-ups did little to address. That includes co-owner Rich Strauss, who the EEOC said questioned a female groomer “about her knowledge of taking care of the ‘tip of a male,’ referring to a male’s penis.” But most of the store’s issues, the EEOC noted, stemmed from the unchecked behavior of two male employees. ‘A living hell’ According to the EEOC, the company’s sexual harassment issues began in 2017. That year, Scottsdale store employee Stephen Kelley began sexually harassing coworker Kelly Nichols. Kelley would touch Nichols’ body, make frequent sexual comments and ask Nichols for sex. “On about five occasions, Kelley physi- cally grabbed Nichols’ butt without her consent,” the EEOC’s complaint stated. Despite her repeated requests to stop, Kelley continued to tell Nichols that “her jeans made her ass look good” and to “break up with her boyfriend and date him instead.” The EEOC said those interac- tions would happen daily and sometimes multiple times a shift. Nichols told her manager about Kelley’s harassment three times, the EEOC added. But management did little to stop the harassment, and Kelley’s behavior became more aggressive. At one point, the agency claimed, Kelley “pinned Nichols between the dog grooming tables threatening that he would make her job a living hell.” The EEOC said Nichols reported the interaction to her supervisor, Roxanne McAfee, but said McAfee only suggested that she, Kelley and Nichols meet together to discuss the situation. Nichols said she did not want to talk about the incident in front of her alleged harasser. McAfee continued to press for a three- way meeting. In May 2017, Kelly obtained a work- place restraining order against Kelley from Scottsdale City Court “because she did not believe that Bark If You’re Dirty was taking her reports of sexual harassment seriously,” the EEOC said. The agency’s complaint said that Kelley did not dispute the restraining order in court. When Nichols continued to refuse any meeting in which Kelley would be included, the complaint said, Bark If You’re Dirty terminated her employment. According to the EEOC, Nichols wasn’t the only female employee harassed by Kelley. (Nor was Kelley the only male who harassed Nichols, the EEOC said. Per the agency’s complaint, Nichols had been the recipient of Rich Strauss’ alleged “tip of the male” comment.) The EEOC claimed that from January 2017 through February 2020, Kelley “made daily sexual remarks … such as asking about (female employees’) sex life and sexual preferences and making sexualized comments about their bodies, propositioning (them) and showing them nude photos.” To avoid Kelley, the EEOC said, one employee rearranged her work schedule, which meant “sometimes losing appoint- ments or clients.” Additionally, “some female employees were terminated after complaining about Kelley’s sexually harassing behavior.” The EEOC complaint does not say what action, if any, the company took regarding Kelley’s behavior. Threatening employees Bark If You’re Dirty’s Phoenix location had similar problems. From 2020 to 2021, the EEOC said, store manager Andrew >> p 14 One Bark If You’re Dirty employee obtained a restraining order from a Scottsdale court against a male coworker. According to the EEOC, the female employee later was fired by the company. (Photo by Scotwriter21/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0) | NEWS | Bark If You’re Dirty, which has stores in Phoenix and Scottsdale, had rampant sexual harassment issues, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (Photo by Zach Buchanan)
