According to CBS News, Warner Bros. Entertainment Chairman and CEO faces allegations of sexual misconduct that are now under investigation.
Kevin Tsujihara, 54-years-old, has worked with Warner Bros Studio for 25 years but had to step down following the accusations. Tsujihara acknowledged his actions were inconsistent with the company’s leadership expectations and said his mistakes could impact the company in the future.
Tsujihara allegedly has an extramarital affair with an actress leading to her parts in Warner Bros films. The actress denies inappropriate behavior by Tsujihara’s, saying he never promised her anything.
The scandal unfolded as Warner Bros was reconstructing, and Tsujihara role expanded with more responsibility. The investigation is currently underway following Tsujihara’s step down.
Attorney contributor Jason Amala works with victims of sexual assault in civil lawsuits. In an interview, we asked him to share some of his knowledge on the legal options available to victims sexually abused in their workplace or by an employer:
“Company owners are legally obligated to ensure the safety of all of their customers and employees. These owners must protect their patrons and employees from preventable dangers through proper security and safety measures. Examples of adequate security are proper background checks, video surveillance, and ab easy misconduct report system. When a sexual assault occurs at work, the victim should ask whether adequate security was provided. If there was adequate security or protections when the assault occurred, the victim might have grounds for a lawsuit against the company owner for negligence.”
“In order for the victim to have grounds for a civil lawsuit, the company must be considered negligent and the crime foreseeable. For example, if there was an awareness of previous misconduct and the employee was allowed to continue working or if a crime was caught on camera and ignored. In such cases, the company may be liable for the assault because it was reasonably foreseeable, but the company was negligent. Victims should consult a sexual assault attorney to help determine whether they can file a civil lawsuit on the grounds of the crime being reasonably foreseeable and its negligence.”