Managers at a rehab center in Tarzana gave Nazi salutes, displayed “white power” gang signs and abused other staff members with homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic language, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Seven former and current employees of Executive Recovery Group Inc. claimed the abuse and harassment began after an executive manager was hired, according to a news release from the Los Angeles civil litigation attorneys who filed the suit. The manager allegedly replaced two Hispanic managers with her white friends, including one who is associated with a white nationalist gang, according to the release.
“Discrimination and harassment have no place in any workplace, let alone one dedicated to the recovery and well-being of vulnerable individuals,” attorney Camron Dowlatshahi said in the statement. “These toxic actions by the management of this facility are not only morally reprehensible, they are illegal under California law.”
The Executive Recovery Group Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The organization is based in California and owns several drug rehabilitation centers across the state. The company has been the target of several lawsuits in the past, including accusations of not paying overtime and failing to prevent a hostile work environment.
The lawsuit asks the court to order the facility to pay unspecified damages.
Employees complained about the alleged misconduct over several months, during which Black, Jewish, Latino and LGBTQ+ employees were discriminated against and harassed, the lawsuit said. In one case, the facility’s resident assistant, a gay Latino man, was told he should not bathe patients because of his sexual orientation. One employee had a swastika tattoo on his face. Another employee was overheard describing the company’s owners as stingy “because they’re Jewish,” the statement said.
According to the lawsuit, black clients were expelled from the institution’s program for infractions for which white clients were not punished. Black clients were also not allowed to attend a nearby black church, while staff escorted Roman Catholic clients to Mass. And according to the statement, one employee showed nude photos of a female colleague to clients.
During a shopping trip to Costco, a white employee made racist comments about Hispanic and Asian shoppers and customers at the store, according to the lawsuit. The employee was not disciplined and continued to make discriminatory comments, the statement said.
According to the lawsuit, staff and management were also suspected of taking home medications that needed to be destroyed. In October 2023, records of medication destruction were found inside a cabinet.
