A troubling chain of alleged HR failures followed the worker's complaint
Rivian Automotive faces a federal lawsuit alleging it mishandled a sexual harassment report, then fired the employee who raised it.
The case, filed on March 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, centers on how one of America's most closely watched electric vehicle makers allegedly responded when a factory worker said she was being harassed on the job.
Treshon Gant says she was hired as a Team Member for General Assembly at Rivian's Normal, Illinois plant in October 2022. According to court papers, within weeks she was subjected to frequent and unwelcome sexual harassment by multiple co-workers. One, Antwon Willis, allegedly made sexually explicit remarks, touched her without consent, and followed her as she tried to get away from him. Another male employee allegedly asked intrusive questions about her virginity.
Gant did what employers routinely tell workers to do — she reported it. The filing says she raised the matter with her Team Lead, her Group Leader, her Manager, and an Employee Relations Manager, all on the same day the most serious incident occurred.
What allegedly happened next is where the case becomes particularly instructive for HR professionals.
Rivian temporarily separated Gant and Willis for roughly four days, according to the lawsuit, but then moved Willis back onto her production line. The filing also alleges that Rivian directed Gant — not Willis — to...
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