“Rasekhi threatened to fire Kader if he revealed the incidents to anyone. Kader kept the incidents to himself out of shame and fear of losing his job.”

💡 This shows how employment power was weaponized to ensure the victim’s silence and enable continued abuse.

“In July 2018, Rasekhi said Kader had a pretty face, was a good-looking man, and his slacks were nice and tight. Rasekhi asked if Kader watched porn and talked about guys playing with each other at the gym steam room. He stared at Kader’s buttocks while wetting his lips with his tongue.”

💡 The harassment began with verbal comments and escalated to physical assault, demonstrating a pattern of predatory behavior.

“On November 18, 2018, Rasekhi allegedly forced Kader to perform oral sex, and on April 17, 2019, forced him to touch Rasekhi’s genitals and perform oral sex.”

💡 These are criminal acts of sexual assault, not merely workplace harassment, committed by the clinic’s chief medical officer.

“Eight subsequent incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault allegedly took place between September 2019 and February 28, 2022.”

💡 The abuse continued for years after Kader signed the arbitration agreement in June 2019, showing the agreement did not protect him.

“When he refused to work with Rasekhi, travel alone with him, or be behind closed doors with him, Rasekhi and Busheri began to retaliate against him.”

💡 Management punished the victim for trying to protect himself rather than investigating or stopping the abuse.

“He stated that the defendants were aware of the allegations against Rasekhi based on the complaints of several other employees.”

💡 This suggests leadership knew about Rasekhi’s misconduct from multiple sources but failed to act, enabling continued harm.

“Busheri’s declaration stating that Kader never made any complaint to her about Rasekhi’s conduct during his employment. She was not aware of any complaints Kader made to Modern HR about any of the Center’s officials or employees.”

💡 The absence of formal complaints reflects the victim’s fear of retaliation, not the absence of misconduct.

“In fact, during the time of the alleged incidents, Kader sent text messages to Busheri expressing support of Rasekhi.”

💡 The employer used coerced expressions of support as evidence against the victim rather than examining the power dynamics that produced them.

“A dispute arises when one party asserts a right, claim, or demand, and the other side expresses disagreement or takes an adversarial posture.”

💡 This legal standard prevents employers from claiming pre-existing disputes whenever abuse occurred, protecting victims who were silenced by fear.

“We conclude the date that a dispute has arisen for purposes of the Act depends on the unique facts of each case, but a dispute does not arise merely from the fact of injury. For a dispute to arise, a party must first assert a right, claim, or demand.”

💡 This ruling prevents employers from backdating disputes to avoid federal protections for sexual assault and harassment victims.

“There is no evidence of a disagreement or controversy in this case until after the date of the arbitration agreement and the effective date of the Act, when the employee filed charges with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) in May 2022.”

💡 The court found the arbitration agreement could not block the case because no dispute existed when the agreement was signed.

“An employee signed an arbitration agreement with his employer in the regular course of his employment, without disclosing that he was being subjected to sexual harassment and assault.”

💡 This illustrates how power imbalances allow employers to obtain waivers of legal rights from employees who are being victimized but cannot safely disclose it.

“Kader alleged that in July 2021, the Center’s chief executive officer Sheila Busheri began making false statements about Kader to justify retaliating against him.”

💡 Leadership manufactured a false narrative to rationalize punishing the victim, protecting the institution rather than addressing abuse.

“Congress subsequently enacted the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (the Act; 9 U.S.C. §§ 401, 402), which invalidates predispute arbitration agreements in certain circumstances.”

💡 Federal law now prevents employers from using arbitration clauses to hide sexual assault and harassment cases from public view.

“CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION”

💡 This decision will guide California courts in future cases about when disputes arise and when the federal Act protects victims.