Ex-employee sues credit union

Jackson Bell

A former California Credit Union employee filed a lawsuit against the

company and its chief lending officer Tuesday, claiming he was

sexually harassed by his boss, retaliated against upon reporting it,

then wrongfully terminated.

Vito D’Erasmo, a former loan officer, said he was pushed into

resigning when he complained of emotional distress from former

executive Bill Walker’s abuse, and was required to work six hours

without any breaks, according to his attorney, Okorie Okorocha.

The suit does not request a specific amount of money, just

compensation for suffering and lost income, Okorocha said. The credit

union’s central office is on North Brand Boulevard.

“Vito keeps saying he doesn’t want them to be able to do this to

anyone else, and it’s a concern from a public standpoint to think a

big company might be operating like a sweatshop,” Okorocha said.

Walker allegedly gave D’Erasmo, a gay man, custom-made CDs between

January and December 2004 that contained sexually explicit lyrics and

racial comments, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Glendale

Superior Court.

Chris Kerecman, a spokesman for the credit union, did not return

several calls Wednesday. Efforts to reach Walker were unsuccessful.

When D’Erasmo told the human resources department he was being

sexually harassed, the credit union neither corrected the problem nor

protected him from further abuse, according to the suit. D’Erasmo

claims he was later skipped over for a promotion, not included in

meetings and luncheons, and instructed to work long hours without

breaks.

“He got sick of all the abuse and being forced to work those

hours,” Okorocha said. “[The credit union’s] general counsel was

screaming at him and telling him it was not working out. He was

essentially forced to resign.”

Okorocha also said D’Erasmo’s employers were retaliating against

him because he told authorities the credit union violated the Privacy

Act. Customers’ personal and financial records were stolen, and

D’Erasmo reported that the information was stored in cardboard boxes

in rooms that were easily accessible to the public, he said.

* JACKSON BELL covers public safety and courts. He may be reached

at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at jackson.bell@

latimes.com.