San Diego Wave maintained toxic culture, lawsuit says

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Senior management at the San Diego Wave Futbol Club allegedly fostered a hostile and discriminatory work environment for female and Latina employees, the women alleged in an Oct. 7 lawsuit against the soccer club and the National Women’s Soccer League. women’s football).Alvarado vs. Soccer Women’s Team Co. d/b/a San Diego Wave Futbol Club).

The complaint also alleged that the employer fired or forced the resignation of five former employees after they engaged in protected activity, and that the Wave repeatedly failed to respond to complaints that the plaintiffs were unprofessionally compromised and deprived of opportunities available to white male employees.

Additionally, the NWSL, the club’s governing body, received multiple reports about the Wave’s “abusive and toxic work culture,” the lawsuit states. But he failed to properly address these issues, “allowing the behavior to continue to fester,” according to the complaint.

These actions violated California law prohibiting discrimination and retaliation based on race, gender and disability, according to the lawsuit.

In an email to HR Dive, a Wave spokesperson said “the lawsuit concerns allegations originally raised on July 3, 2024. As this matter is an ongoing legal proceeding, we are unable to comment more for the moment.”

The allegations first emerged in the lead plaintiff’s social media posts, leading Wave president Jill Ellis to sue the worker for defamation.

EEOC Best Practices

Nearly a decade ago – before the dramatic increase and recent decline in support for DEI initiatives – the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission convened a special task force to investigate harassment in work.

The task force’s report, published in 2016, reached two fundamental conclusions. “First, generally speaking, we have heard that leadership and commitment to a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace in which harassment is simply not acceptable is paramount,” the members wrote of the working group.

Second, “at all levels and in all positions, an organization must have systems that hold employees accountable to these expectations,” the report states.

These systems – which include reporting mechanisms, investigation protocols, and prohibitions on retaliation – are covered in various EEOC documents, most comprehensively in an April 2024 update.

Wave of allegations

The lead plaintiff in the Wave case claimed she was recruited to serve as the team’s video and creative lead, and was told she would have autonomy over its equipment budget and his tools. Instead, she was excluded from budgeting and hiring decisions, forced to use substandard equipment and criticized for results, according to the complaint.

She developed severe anxiety and depression and requested to be housed in a quiet work space or to be allowed to edit videos at home, according to the lawsuit. However, management allegedly failed to engage in good faith discussions regarding this request, placed her on unpaid leave and then threatened to treat her absence as a voluntary resignation if she did not immediately return to work.

Circumstances forced her to resign, the complaint alleges.

A second plaintiff was fired immediately after using an accrued sick day to care for her sick daughter, according to the complaint.

Several months after the hiring of a third complainant, the president of Wave allegedly confronted her about her living conditions. She was staying with a co-worker or in a hotel due to the high cost of rent in the area, according to the complaint.

The president of The Wave reportedly said it was “embarrassing” and pressured her to find permanent housing within a week. She was later fired.

A fourth plaintiff claimed the club president asked her inappropriate questions about her immigration status and why she didn’t want Wave to sponsor her.

She also alleged that when she returned from a trip to Mexico to visit sick grandparents, management, particularly her supervisor, became aggressive and harmed her mental health. When she told Wave’s vice president of people and culture, she was told to talk to her supervisor. She resigned shortly after.