Ex-Worker At Glitzy UES Store Alleges Sexual Harassment

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A former employee at an upscale Upper East Side home furnishings store has filed suit against the company, Jonathan Adler, alleging he was subjected to repeated sexual harassment by his supervisor and then fired after he spoke out.

The suit was filed Sunday in Manhattan federal court. The employee, Rory Vitagliano, worked as a salesman and assistant store manager at Jonathan Adler's flagship Lexington Avenue store, which moved in early 2020 from East 58th to East 65th Street.

Vitagliano was a high-performing worker, becoming one of Jonathan Adler's top-selling salesmen. For months, however, he says he was subjected to repeated harassment by his immediate supervisor, who touched him inappropriately and commented on his appearance and sex life.

The misconduct began in January 2020, as Vitagliano and his boss were preparing to join a conference call, when the supervisor reached over, pinched Vitagliano's inner leg and said, "[I'm] excited to work with you," the suit claims.

The pattern continued for months, the lawsuit alleges — in other instances, the supervisor came up from behind and ran his fingers through Vitagliano's hair. Other times, he asked about Vitagliano's sex life and remarked that his "ass ... look[ed] good" in certain pants, the suit claims.

Both Vitagliano and his former supervisor are gay, he says.

In May 2020, after another instance of harassment, Vitagliano submitted a written complaint to an area manager. The manager, however, told Vitagliano to delete the term "sexual harassment" from his complaint, and failed to share any updates about the status of an internal investigation, the suit says.

Later last summer, Vitagliano was unexpectedly reassigned to a different store on the Upper West Side — a move that caused him to lose out on commissions, since the store was low-performing, the suit claims.

Though he "helped turn around" that store, generating nearly all of its revenue himself, Vitagliano was abruptly terminated in September — this time, after he complained about missing wages, he claims. The store told him only that he was not the "right fit," he says.

Vitagliano's attorneys are asking a court to award him damages to make up for his emotional distress and lost wages, among other penalties. A spokesperson for Jonathan Adler did not respond to a request for comment.

"Mr. Vitagliano clearly was an asset to Jonathan Adler and was praised for his strong performance by managers and even the CEO," said his attorneys, Lawrence M. Pearson and Tanvir H. Rahman, in a statement.

" His abrupt termination reeks of pretext, especially in light of the company’s failure to properly investigate his complaint of sexual harassment by his male supervisor, and we are committed to vindicating Mr. Vitagliano’s rights and holding Jonathan Adler and its management responsible."