the bar on Broadway<\/a> for eight years, claimed that when she reported employees and patrons were having sex in the bar, its owner told her to \u201cstop complaining.\u201d <\/p>\nAccording to a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Gonzales was required to work the coat check for Precinct DTLA\u2019s weekly \u201cjockstrap \/ underwear party\u201d without receiving pay. She said the bar\u2019s manager eliminated the coat check fee, believing it would \u201cincentivize more patrons to drop their pants.\u201d <\/p>\n
Gonzales claimed the environment grew so hostile she needed to bring stress balls to work. One day, her complaint said, another employee grabbed her stress ball and refused to give it back to her. In a struggle over the stress ball, Gonzales claims the employee broke two of her fingers. <\/p>\n
According to her lawsuit, Gonzales was effectively fired after the incident, in part because Precinct DTLA\u2019s owner and manager wanted to replace her with a gay male employee. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese claims are completely false,\u201d the bar\u2019s representatives wrote on Instagram. <\/p>\n
In the post, they added that the lawyer representing Gonzales \u201cappears to have a clear anti-LGBTQ agenda.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are multiple reports \u2014 including from individuals who previously worked with him \u2014 that he used anti-LGBTQ slurs in written emails while at his former firm,\u201d they wrote on Instagram. <\/p>\n
Gonzales is represented by John Barber, court records show. The Times reported in 2023 that Barber and his colleague Jeff Ranen regularly denigrated Black, Jewish, Middle Eastern, Asian and gay people in emails they exchanged while partners at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith. <\/p>\n
After Barber and Ranen left to start their own firm, Lewis Brisbois released scores of the lawyer\u2019s emails<\/a>, which showed the men regularly used anti-gay slurs, The Times reported. <\/p>\nIn a joint statement at the time, Barber and Ranen said they were \u201cashamed\u201d and \u201cdeeply sorry.\u201d Barber didn\u2019t immediately return a request for comment Saturday. <\/p>\n
In the Instagram post, Precinct DTLA\u2019s representatives said defending themselves from Gonzales\u2019 allegations was \u201cdraining us emotionally and financially.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cCome to the bar,\u201d they wrote. \u201cBuy a drink. Order some food. Tip the staff. Show up.\u201d <\/p>\n