On Wednesday, a former employee of the Spanish fashion retailer Zara filed a lawsuit against the company and its senior executives for alleged homophobic and anti-Semitic discrimination.
The company's former counsel, Ian Zack Miller, filed the case and cited Dilip Patel, the manager for Zara's operations in the United States, and Moises Costas Rodriguez, the director for North and South America operations, as the defendants, according to WWD.
Miller claims that the company unceremoniously dismissed him in March after serving as one of its lawyers for seven years. Miller also alleged that he was "deliberately excluded" from meetings and received lower pay than his colleagues, according to Reuters.
"Zara overlooked Mr. Miller's stellar performance, marginalized his role in the company, and gave him lower raises than employees who fit the company's preferred profile of Christian, Spanish and straight," said David Sanford, Miller's lawyer.
The court documents also said that, "Supervisors and colleagues sent Mr. Miller homophobic emails, made anti-Semitic remarks in his presence and boasted that Spanish employees enjoyed more job security than employees of other nationalities," reported WWD.
As the only Jewish employee in the U.S., Miller kept this background a secret, knowing how the executives viewed Jewish business people, according to Forbes. But when the company learned of his heritage, he was immediately targeted.
Miller wants Zara to pay $40 million for pay discrimination, termination discrimination, front and back pay, compensatory damages, liquidated damages and punitive damages. He's also requesting a trial by jury.
In its response, Zara said, "The allegations contained in a plaintiff's press release today are shocking, and—although we have not yet seen a copy of the lawsuit—we will respond strongly and vigorously to these allegations in the court. We do not tolerate any behavior that is discriminatory or disrespectful, but value each individual's contributions to our dynamic organization," reported Forbes.
This isn't the first time Zara has been embroiled in an anti-Semitic issue. Last year, the company was in hot water for selling baby shirts that seemed to be inspired by concentration camps, according to Time. Zara issued a public apology for this oversight.
