Sexual Harassment at Universal Studios Alleged : Workplace: Officials deny charges by two dozen employees and say only two lawsuits have been filed.

Behind the movie set facades of Universal Studios Hollywood, women have worked for years in an atmosphere that dozens of employees say has fostered sexual harassment at the family-oriented theme park.

A ticket booth worker says that two of her bosses trapped her in an office and that one masturbated in front of her. A makeup artist says a naked muscle-bound “warrior” in the “Adventures of Conan” stage show attacked her in a locker room. And a teen-age park visitor says she was fondled by a male employee who was helping dress her as a volunteer performer.

More than two dozen current and former employees said in interviews that they either witnessed sexual harassment or were subjected to misconduct ranging from unwanted advances and lewd comments to groping and “sandwiching,” where two or more men forcibly squeeze a woman between their bodies.

Universal, a subsidiary of MCA Inc., denied that there is a serious problem or a pattern of sexual harassment at the theme park, noting that the company employs 4,000 employees a year and has had only two harassment lawsuits. In a statement, officials said any large company will encounter some cases of “inappropriate sexually related statements or actions.”

Since Anita Hill testified against then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991, major employers across the nation have been increasingly occupied with the issue of sexual harassment. Many industries, including the entertainment business, are wrestling with how to resolve a complex problem that women say has long existed in the workplace.

At Universal, employees described an environment where there are rules against harassment, but where low-level supervisors and union representatives tolerated and sometimes participated in playful sexual flirtations that laid the foundation for more serious harassment. Some workers said they did not complain for fear of losing their jobs. Others said their complaints to immediate supervisors were not forwarded to upper management.

“I put up with pornographic pictures, the lewd talk, the guys running around propositioning the girls,” said Loretta Miller, the makeup artist who alleges that she was attacked on the Conan set and is suing Universal. “But this time . . . it went too far. The guy attacked me. . . . I was hysterical.”

Ron Bension, the MCA executive who oversees Universal Studios, said: “We take (allegations of harassment) very seriously. We have the most aggressive policies and we have a tremendous number of avenues to deal with sexual harassment. . . . In each and every case where the company was aware of a complaint, we acted decisively.”

Sid Sheinberg, the president and chief operating officer of MCA, Universal’s parent company, declined requests for interviews. In a letter to Times Editor Shelby Coffey III, Sheinberg said some of the allegations of sexual harassment were “patently ludicrous on their face.”

He said the company would not discuss confidential personnel matters and could not respond to two allegations of sexual harassment that are the subject of pending litigation.

Victims Often Fear Retaliation

Universal Studios, the nation’s fourth-largest theme park, with 5 million visitors a year, features stage shows and exhibits that provide a behind-the-scenes look at the entertainment industry, which has been the target of several highly publicized sexual harassment cases in recent years. The company’s parent, MCA, was named in two sexual harassment suits in the last 15 months against another of its subsidiaries, Geffen Records.

Universal officials refused to say how many employees have made sexual harassment complaints at the park. According to union and company sources, at least 23 employees--excluding managers and other non-union employees--have been accused of sexual harassment since 1990. Seven were fired or suspended.

Some additional complaints at Universal may not have been forwarded to upper-level management for investigation. A spokeswoman said the personnel department had no record of complaints by nine women who told The Times that they had reported incidents of harassment to their immediate supervisors.

Court records show that two female park employees have filed sexual harassment lawsuits against Universal in the last five years.

Harassment experts said that numbers of lawsuits or formal grievances do not tell the entire story. Such actions are rare at any company, they said, because most women are reluctant to complain about something that can be as personal and embarrassing as sexual harassment.

In a 1988 study of U.S. government employees, the federal Merit Systems Protection Board found that 95% of women who say they suffered sexual harassment on the job do not report it. In tracking sexual harassment and assault cases for 15 years, the New York-based NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund has concluded that the percentage has dropped to 90% in recent years.

“Victims fear retaliation and, as a result, frequently do not file complaints,” said Dan Stormer, attorney for Wendy-Sue Rosen, a former Universal employee who filed a $10-million sexual harassment lawsuit against the company in December. “But any time a woman comes forward, it opens a floodgate. After the publicity surfaced about Wendy’s case, I received numerous telephone calls from women at Universal with similar stories to tell.”

Universal spokeswoman Joan Bullard declined to comment on Stormer’s statement. But she said the company has long worked to stamp out harassment, not only by periodically reissuing statements of its policy but also by holding mandatory management awareness sessions and providing anti-harassment training during employee orientation. In addition, the park has procedures for reporting harassment and a dozen “President’s” mailboxes where employees can deposit complaints for direct delivery to Sheinberg’s office.

Charges Center on Conan Castle

Officials at the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington said the agency--which last year recorded more than 10,000 harassment claims nationally, including 117 from the entertainment industry--does not release statistics by employer and declined to compare Universal to similar employers. Other major California theme parks refused to provide figures on harassment complaints at their parks.

Rosen’s suit, filed in December, produced the first public airing of sexual harassment allegations at Universal.

Starting when she was 16, Rosen sold tickets at the park entrance, then was promoted to research analyst.

During much of her 13-year tenure, her suit says, she was subjected to harassment by two of her superiors. They allegedly asked her what color underwear she was wearing, offered her paid vacations for sex and hung pornographic photos on the office walls.

One boss on numerous occasions rubbed his body against her, pawed her breasts and made comments such as “let’s make a Wendy’s sandwich,” the suit alleged.

Rosen said she put up with it, hoping that her tormentors would keep their promises to promote her out of the department. But in September, 1990, her suit alleges, her bosses went too far, cornering her in an office where she says one of them demanded oral sex and tried to force her to masturbate him. When she refused, she said, he held on to her while he masturbated.

Rosen said she complained to union and company officials but did not file a written grievance because she was afraid of retribution. Days later, she found a photograph of herself on her desk with the teeth blacked out, she said. Within months, she was assigned a heavier workload, and finally management informed her that--because of budget constraints--her job might be in jeopardy.

“First your bosses try to silence you by threats and intimidation,” Rosen, 30, said in an interview. “Then, if you work up the courage to spill your guts in confidence to their superiors . . . the next thing you know, everybody is taunting you and teasing you and making a big joke out of it.”

Finally, on Feb. 14, 1992, Rosen quit.

Universal officials declined to comment on the lawsuit but confirmed that Rosen’s two bosses continue to work for the company and that one has been promoted.

A number of allegations of sexual misconduct center on the stage show area, particularly the Conan Castle, the setting for a mock sword fight based on the movie “Conan the Barbarian.”

Actors and employees who worked at Conan between 1983 and 1992 interpreted what took place backstage in a variety of ways. But most described what one male performer called an “Animal House” atmosphere where scantily clad bodybuilders, most of them men, changed costumes in cramped quarters with little privacy.

Two male actors acknowledged that they took part in sexual antics such as “sandwiching” female co-workers and “mooning” them while on stage.

Another actor, Frank Jasper, 33, who said he did not participate in the fooling around because he is married, said sandwiching was just “a joke.”

“I don’t feel it was sexual harassment,” said Jasper, a former swordsman on the Conan set. “You spend a lot of hours between shows waiting and you really need to amuse yourself somehow.”

Such sexual pranks were not amusing to Loretta Miller, a former Universal employee who sued the company in April, 1990, for sexual harassment and assault.

For five years, Miller had styled hair, applied makeup and dressed actors on the Conan set. The loose atmosphere and nudity rarely bothered her until April 10, 1989, the day she alleges actor Jim Maniaci attacked her.

As Miller entered the locker room to get some stockings for an actress, her suit says, a naked Maniaci grabbed her, pinned her against a locker, humped her thigh hard enough to bruise it and shouted, “I know you want it.”

She alleges that she was repeatedly taunted by fellow employees and supervisors after reporting the incident. Miller quit soon after the alleged assault.

A claim filed by Miller with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing was dismissed nearly three years ago because the agency could not substantiate her account with witnesses.

Maniaci, 37, was suspended for two weeks for the alleged assault and battery, according to court documents later filed by Universal. And Miller was granted a $15,000 workers’ compensation judgment in April, 1991, for emotional distress stemming from the incident.

Maniaci is on voluntary leave from the Conan show while he appears in “Knights and Warriors,” a gladiator-style television program.

“I never touched her,” he said in an interview. “She’s a woman with some serious problems who is trying to make a fast buck with a deep-pocket lawsuit.”

Deborah Kaplan Galer, the attorney defending MCA-owned Universal against the lawsuit, said it “is not a case of sex harassment.”

Miller maintains that employees who saw or heard the attack changed their story for fear of losing their jobs. People whom Miller identified as witnesses declined to comment.

“I still have nightmares about the assault,” Miller said. “What happened to me nearly destroyed my life and it seems like the guys who run this family theme park could just about care less.”

Universal’s employee guidelines define sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal, physical or visual conduct of a sexual nature. . . .” The policy specifically prohibits leering, flirting, whistling, touching, sexual jokes and derogatory comments, as well as displaying pictures or making gestures of a sexual nature.

More than three dozen current and former employees who had worked in various sections of the park, including ticket booths, administration offices, stage show areas, souvenir shops and the tour tram, were interviewed for this story.

Two-thirds said they had witnessed harassment--and 11 of those said they were personally harassed.

Others characterized the activity as harmless horseplay.

“Sure there is sexual joking and teasing and playing that goes on,” said Debbie Korkunis, one of the actresses who plays Red Sonia, the only female character in Universal’s Conan skit. “But I have never felt harassed, demeaned or humiliated in the two years I’ve been there.”

Other employees said harassment has persisted for years at the 29-year-old park. The situation, they said, has been aggravated by high turnover among seasonal workers, a shortage of women managers and sexism, including derogatory language.

Gloria (Gold) Davis, now 66, said that employees who were dressed as movie characters routinely would grope her and other women employees when she worked as a sales manager for Universal Amphitheater in 1973 and 1974. “Putting up with sexual harassment, verbal and physical, and discrimination was simply a daily part of the job when I worked there,” she said.

Company officials declined to provide a gender breakdown of their managers but said there is no shortage of women.

In interviews, current and former employees expressed particular concern about harassment of teen-agers, whose naivete makes them more vulnerable.

Three former adult male employees acknowledged seducing underage employees and tourists, sometimes taking them to hotels outside the park. Several current employees said the practice continues. Asked whether the company has a policy addressing the dating of minors, spokeswoman Bullard said, “We’re not expressing an opinion on that matter.”

Two years ago, a 38-year-old male employee who had helped dress volunteer “stars” at the 2010 show left Universal after a teen-age guest complained that he had fondled her breasts as he pulled on her space suit.

The accused harasser maintains he was innocent and spoke on condition of anonymity. He said several tourists had complained about him, leading the company to encourage him to resign. The company had a record of just one complaint but said the man was terminated.

Teen-age female employees said they put up with male supervisors hugging, grabbing and kissing them because working at Universal was a good summer job. The minimum starting wage for park employees is $5.50 to $7 per hour.

“Part of the allure for the young actress-to-be types is that by working on the lot they might get discovered,” said a 36-year-old woman who worked as a tour guide last summer and spoke on condition of anonymity. “But in reality, the young girls who apply for tour guide jobs are looked at by the guy managers as little lambs going to the slaughter.”

Initially, 16-year-old shop clerk Maria Gomes was unaware that she was being approached sexually last August, partly because her alleged harasser was another woman. But when the co-worker’s probing questions about Gomes’ sexual preference escalated to an attempt to massage her and kiss her in the store’s stockroom, Gomes got the message.

“At first, . . . I was scared to go tell my supervisor about what happened, basically because it was my word against the word of the woman who harassed me,” she said. “Then I found out from other employees that they had already complained about having trouble with her.”

Employees Often Permitted to Quit

After her complaint, Maria said, the woman continued to follow her around the grounds. After Maria complained a second time and produced a witness, the company moved to suspend the woman but she resigned and returned to school.

In several other cases, according to former union officials, employees accused of harassment were permitted to resign for personal reasons.

Such a practice is common, arbitration experts said, because a company that fires an alleged harasser without evidence of a crime can be sued for wrongful discharge.

“It almost always comes down to a one-on-one confrontation with my word against yours,” union attorney Linda Paquette said. “If there are witnesses . . . and they refuse to come forward, there is little that the company or the union can do.”

Victims and accused harassers blamed the International Alliance of Theatrical and State Employees (IATSE), Local B-192, the park’s largest union with 1,600 members, for being ineffective. They said that union officials appeared to be more loyal to the company than to their own members.

“Union representatives have a lot of friends in management and . . . the union has a lot of leaks,” agreed a former union official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Union President Peter Lurie refused to comment on the issue of sexual harassment at Universal, referring all calls to the company’s publicity department.

The Los Angeles office of IATSE referred reporters to Paquette, who handles cases for the union without charge. She said she believes that Universal senior management has acted responsibly on the harassment cases that have been brought to the attention of the union, which gets involved whenever an employee seeks representation.

Sources said many employees do not ask for the union’s help.

Of the 23 harassment cases reported since 1990, sources said, three employees were fired, one resigned, four were suspended and 11 were given warnings. No action was taken in three instances, and one case is under investigation.

Universal’s Policy on Harassment

The problem, Paquette suggested, is that few Universal employees have the courage to file formal grievances: “There appears to be a general reluctance to report anything to management . . . whether it’s sexual harassment or even a complaint about being shortchanged for overtime pay.”

Officials at Anaheim-based Disneyland and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia said that new employees are given a one-day orientation session, which includes a lecture on sexual harassment. Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park does not have any special harassment training but provides a confidential hot line for all complaints.

Universal’s anti-discrimination and harassment policy statement, distributed to all new employees, says that alleged violations would be promptly investigated and “appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”

Some employees said Universal’s response to sexual harassment has been uneven.

In a case last year, sources said, numerous women accused a merchandise clerk of harassment during an eight-month period. The company said it had a record of complaints on only three occasions:

After three women had complained about embraces from the man, he was given a warning. Five months later, another woman complained and the man was warned a second time. He was terminated after a new complaint a week later.

In another case, a Universal store clerk was dismissed just three days after he allegedly harassed a female employee. Employees pointed out that the dismissal occurred three weeks after the Rosen suit was publicized on national television.

The clerk was accused by a female custodian of coming up behind her in a closed bathroom near the Woody’s Cast of Characters store Jan. 4, fondling her breasts and, when she resisted, pinning himself against her and saying, “No one is going to see us.”

Universal security guards called in Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who said they are referring the case to the district attorney’s office for possible prosecution.

“A $10-million lawsuit on television and in newspapers was the only thing that forced Universal to do something,” said Rachel Silverstone, 28, a former union president who quit her job as a tour guide in 1991.

Bension of Universal said: “We react swiftly to all sex harassment complaints. Publicity has nothing to do with our response.”