Banana Republic failed to protect its employees from being recorded in restroom, $500k lawsuit says – By Aimee Green (oregonlive.com) / Jan 9 2019
Johnny Tuck Chee Chan, 34, made a brief appearance in the Multnomah County Circuit courtroom of Judge Karin Immergut on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018. (Aimee Green | The Oregonian/OregonLive)
Two teenage employees of a Portland Banana Republic store are seeking $500,000 from the clothing retailer in a lawsuit filed Wednesday, claiming store management failed to protect them from a co-worker who recorded them using the toilet at work.
The teens, ages 17 and 19, appear to be the first to seek damages after police and prosecutors say 34-year-old Johnny Tuck Chee Chan used a hidden camera to record 27 co-workers at Banana Republic using a single-user, employee restroom from April to November. Police also say Chan in 2016 and 2017 recorded 51 other people — mostly co-workers — using the restrooms or changing rooms at the Northeast Portland Kaiser pharmacy where he worked before he was caught and fired.
The suit claims the Banana Republic Factory Store on Cascades Parkway near Portland International Airport and its general manager were negligent in hiring Chan for an entry-level sales associate position without delving more into his history.
“If a licensed pharmacist is leaving a six-figure salary and applying for a minimum-wage job in retail, there’s a story there,” said Portland attorney Barbara Long, who is representing the teen employees. “Banana Republic failed to do its due diligence and protect its employees from a preventable violation.”
Long said general manager Teri Turner, who made hiring decisions, knew or should have known about Chan’s background. But if management didn’t initially know, Chan’s history should have become obvious to them because Chan freely spoke with his co-workers about how he used to work as a pharmacist, Long said.
A request for comment for this story from Banana Republic wasn’t immediately returned.
Chan was fired from Kaiser in November 2017 and was hired in spring 2018 at Banana Republic, the suit stays. He was arrested for the Kaiser videos Nov. 26 while on the job at Banana Republic, according to the lawsuit. While at the store, police found Chan’s hidden camera in the Banana Republic bathroom, the suit says.
He was arrested again on Dec. 7, based on the Banana Republic video evidence.
Chan has been charged with more than 100 counts of invasion of personal privacy or encouraging child sexual abuse, the latter for recording minors while they were partially nude.
Chan also is listed as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The teens’ joint lawsuit identifies them only by the initials J.S. and C.L. because of the embarrassment and trauma they feel after being recorded in various states of address, according to the suit.
Along with Long, Portland attorney Randall Vogt is representing the teens. The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
