Former Cedar Realty Chief Operating Officer Nancy H. Mozzachio filed a pay discrimination and a sexual harassment lawsuit against the company’s CEO Bruce Schanzer. A judge in Brooklyn will soon be the one to decide if these charges must proceed.
As per Nancy Mozzachio’s statement of her filed lawsuit on November 2, she says that she has seen and heard Schanzer always making inappropriate comments to women as well as leering them. Aside from calling Nancy Mozzachio ‘babe’, Schanzer also commented about her breast. While holding a coffee cup from Dunkin Donuts, he said allegedly that she has double Ds today. Moreover, she says that Schanzer has been giving here some groping hugs that are just uncalled for.
According to Nancy H. Mozzachio, when she files a pay disparity and sexual harassment lawsuit, she was fired by the company as a result. By February 2016, she was terminated when she was found to have gone to the outside counsel of Cedar to discuss what procedures she must take for the sexual harassment lawsuit she is filing. According to her, the meeting was canceled and then she was then terminated on the coming week.
During the year 2015 when an external investigator decided to probe on the allegations, Cedar Realty then decided to start investigating on the matter. Despite the presence of an investigator by the company, Nancy Mozzachio makes mention that if it will be about Schanzer and the sexual harassment allegations made by the female employees of the company, the investigator ignores them. The Wall Street Journal has even made mention about one of the employees being asked by Schanzer what color of underwear she is wearing. In order for the investors not to know about this matter, the company has decided to pay the people who have filed some complaints against Schanzer about their being sexually harassed.
The company has obtained some success because of Nancy Mozzachio and she as well. She has made her way to the top as being the chief operating officer in the year 2014 after she has become the director of leasing and vice president of leasing in the years 2003 and 2004, respectively. In terms of her complaints, the company is giving her only a smaller bonus and a lower salary as chief operating officer in comparison to their chief financial officer that should not be the case as she must be the one receiving a higher amount. Of course, for Cedar Realty, they are not true and are very much satisfied that after the board has done their investigations, the allegations were of no merit.
Even if this is the outcome, Nancy H. Mozzachio will still not back down. She will continue fighting for the right of women working in a safer workplace.