Last month, Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) and Bryan Schwartz Law filed suit against an East Bay employer, alleging he sexually assaulted one female employee and then terminated a second when she protested the hostile work environment the attack had created.

Redmund Sum owns and operates an electronics manufacturer and distributor called Silver Center America in Fremont.

According to one of the plaintiffs, Britanni Brown, Sum routinely made inappropriate sexual comments at work to the discomfort of his two sole female employees. The misconduct escalated though, when Sum groped and fondled Brown in his office, telling her that he had “always wanted” to do that.

ERA Legal Director Jennifer Reisch and Staff Attorney Monali Sheth, who represent the two women, say that such mistreatment of female workers is altogether too common.

“Unfortunately, sexual harassment and assault of women at work has become national epidemic,” said Sheth. “This case highlights the acuity of the problem in male-dominated industries like electronics manufacturing. What our clients have experienced on the job is extremely disturbing, and ERA will continue its advocacy until the workplace is safe and free of harassment for all women.”

To read a copy of the complaint in Brown et al v. Silver Center America, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, click here.

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