Lawsuit accuses Stew Leonard’s of ‘hostile environment’

A terminated employee has accused Stew Leonard Jr. of using slurs and other demeaning language toward Black people and women, and claims he was fired after becoming disabled by COVID-19 that he contracted on the job, according to a lawsuit filed last week in New York.

Robert Crosby Jr., a former loss prevention manager at the Stew Leonard’s stores in Norwalk and Yonkers, N.Y., contends in the lawsuit that he was fired after he asked for time to recover following a bout with COVID-19. Crosby also claims he witnessed decades of inappropriate behavior by company executives, including Stew Leonard Jr.

During his 20 years with the company, Crosby alleges in court documents that he witnessed Stew Leonard Jr. call young Black male employees “thugs,” referred to two Jewish employees as “his resident Jews,” and used a racial slur while asking Crosby to tell a Black worker “to pull up his pants.”

The lawsuit also contends that Crosby became ill from the coronavirus due to the lack of protections at the company and he was fired after becoming disabled by long COVID.

In a statement, Stew Leonard Jr. confirmed Crosby’s employment and his termination, but declined to comment on the lawsuit.

“Robert Crosby Jr. worked for Stew Leonard’s almost 20 years, but unfortunately, we had to part ways,” Leonard Jr. said in a statement. “We understand he brought a lawsuit and we will review it with our attorneys, however, we do not comment on pending litigation.”

Crosby’s attorney Karen Mizrahi, of Hertz Legal P.C., also declined to comment, saying “the allegations in the complaint speak for themselves.”

According to the lawsuit, Crosby, a New York resident who was 56 when he was fired in 2020, repeatedly complained about discriminatory remarks and practices to the company’s head of Human Resources. But the human resources representative dismissed the behavior, saying “Stew’s just being Stew” and “he means no harm; he has no filter,” the lawsuit said.

Crosby was threatened with disciplinary action when he continued to complain about the discriminating behavior, the lawsuit stated. The work environment was so hostile and riddled with “discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insult” that a reasonable employee would in (the) plaintiff ’s shoes would perceive it as hostile,” the lawsuit said.

As the pandemic was impacting the Northeast in March 2020, Crosby said he became increasingly concerned that the company was lacking personal protective equipment, such as masks, the lawsuit stated.

“We can’t say we have to keep six feet away if you are on the floor because we have a business to run here,” Stew Leonard Jr. said during a company meeting about COVID safety measures early in the pandemic, according to Crosby’s lawsuit.

Crosby tested positive for COVID-19 on April 3, 2020 while he was out of work after close contact with fellow employees who had the virus, the lawsuit said. His symptoms were “extreme and life-threatening” and included low oxygen levels, shortness of breath, fever, digestive issues, migraines and other issues such as dizziness, memory loss and blurred vision, the lawsuit said.

Crosby was admitted to a hospital and was granted time off under the Family Medical Leave Act and also took discretionary time off until July 22, 2020 when he requested medical clearance to return to work because he was being threatened with losing his job, the lawsuit said.

But his case of long COVID prevented him from doing essential functions of his job, the lawsuit said. The company refused to provide accommodations for his disabled condition and forced him to work from a hospital bed when he was readmitted due to gastronomic issues brought on by long COVID, the lawsuit said.

Crosby was terminated on Sept. 28, 2020, according to the lawsuit, which contends the company violated New York law, which bars companies from firing employees due to a disability.

He brought his case to the New York State Division of Human Rights and the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, which both cleared the case to move forward to a lawsuit, the documents said.

Crosby is requesting a judgment of “no less than $500,000” in compensatory damages and the costs of filing and pursuing the litigation along with “any such other relief ” the court deems just, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit doesn’t specify a dollar amount Crosby is seeking.

Stew Leonard’s, which is headquartered in Norwalk, has stores in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey and is known for its dancing and singing farm characters throughout the building alongside fresh produce, meats and a variety of gourmet foods.