Securitas Security Services USA attempted to suppress a massive sexual harassment and retaliation claim by forcing an employee into a private, secret arbitration system. The company faces a lawsuit claiming systemic workplace abuse, including supervisors mocking an employee’s sexual orientation, reducing his livelihood, and terminating him immediately after he sought legal protection.
This case highlights a corporate effort to use fine-print contracts to bypass public accountability, a strategy recently checked by federal law designed to end the era of forced silence for victims of harassment.
The details below reveal the depth of this misconduct and the systemic structures that allow such environments to fester. Please continue reading to understand how corporate interests prioritize secrecy over human dignity.
Inside the Allegations: Corporate Misconduct
The core of this case involves a pattern of targeted harassment and professional sabotage directed at a security professional. Supervisors at Securitas allegedly engaged in intrusive questioning regarding an employee’s sexual orientation and used derogatory language to create a hostile environment. When the employee attempted to set boundaries and protect his rights, the company responded with aggressive disciplinary tactics and eventually fired him.
Timeline of Misconduct and Retaliation
| Date | Event | Impact on Worker |
| 2012 | Employee hired by Securitas. | Forced to sign a pre-dispute arbitration agreement as a condition of work. |
| April 2023 | Assignment to Oracle Park. | Regular duties commence before the onset of harassment. |
| May 2023 | Supervisor phone call. | Employee faces intrusive questions about sexual activity and is told he is “so embarrassing.” |
| Mid-2023 | Ongoing Hostility. | Field supervisor repeatedly mocks the employee by calling him “Mrs. Quilala” in person. |
| Mid-2023 | Economic Retaliation. | Employee is removed from his assignment and suffers a substantial reduction in work hours. |
| Oct 15, 2023 | Formal Written Objection. | Employee warns supervisor that legal action will follow if the harassment continues. |
| Oct 16, 2023 | Confrontational Meeting. | Management “badgers” and “yells” at the employee for filing a written complaint. |
| Late 2023 | Termination. | Securitas fires the employee shortly after the confrontational meeting. |
The Arbitration Loopyholey Shield
Corporations have spent years utilizing “forced arbitration” clauses to move disputes out of the public eye and into private forums that often favor the employer.
This practice creates an environment where the comparatively powerful companies write their own rules of engagement, effectively opting out of the public judicial system. By burying these clauses in onboarding documents, Securitas attempted to ensure that allegations of harassment would never see a courtroom or a jury.
This reliance on private legal systems shields corporate serial harassers from public scrutiny and prevents the community from seeing the true nature of the workplace culture.
Profit-Maximization at All Costs
The decision to reduce a worker’s hours and eventually terminate them following a complaint illustrates an incentive structure that prioritizes “problem-solving” through elimination rather than reform. In a neoliberal framework, human employees are often viewed as replaceable units of labor. When an employee demands dignity, they become a “liability” to the bottom line.
Securitas chose to protect its supervisors and its internal peace by removing the victim, a move which minimizes immediate administrative friction while causing maximum harm to the individual’s economic stability.
The Weaponization of Identity
The harassment described in this case (specifically the use of gendered mockery and intrusive sexual inquiries) serves as a tool of control. By attacking an employee’s identity, management is then able to create a power imbalance which discourages others from speaking out. This shitty working environment environment allows for the growth of office cultures that ignore harassment while creating incentives for the corporate protection of those in power.
The reduction of hours further weaponizes the worker’s survival, using economic desperation to punish those who refuse to tolerate abuse.
Corporate Spin Tactics
Securitas attempted to frame this entire dispute as a simple contractual matter. In court, their legal team argued that even if the sexual harassment claims were allowed in public court, the rest of the employee’s grievances should still be locked away in secret arbitration. This tactic of “carving up” a case is a common corporate strategy to exhaust the victim’s resources and prevent a holistic view of the company’s misconduct from reaching the public record.
Corporate Accountability Fails the Public
The default state of modern capitalism is to privatize justice, the battle here proves as much. Securitas fought to maintain the secrecy of the arbitration process, showing that the company fears the transparency of a public trial.
The limited nature of current corporate accountability means that victims must often fight all the way to the Court of Appeal just to win the right to have their story heard in public.
Pathways for Reform & Workplace Advocacy
The outcome of this case reinforces the power of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act. True reform in my opinion requires:
- Complete Transparency: Banning all pre-dispute arbitration agreements for employment.
- Whistleblower Strength: Protecting employees who report “hostile environment” conduct from immediate termination.
- Judicial Oversight: Ensuring that public courts, not private arbitrators, determine when and where a worker can seek justice.
This Is the System Working as Intended
This case is a textbook example of how modern corporate structures are designed to insulate themselves from the consequences of their own toxic cultures. The attempt to force Francisco Quilala into arbitration was a calculated application of an exploitative legal strategy. When profit is the only metric, silence is an asset and an outspoken worker is a cost to be cut.
💡 Explore Corporate Misconduct by Category
Corporations harm people every day — from wage theft to pollution. Learn more by exploring key areas of injustice.
- 💀 Product Safety Violations — When companies risk lives for profit.
- 🌿 Environmental Violations — Pollution, ecological collapse, and unchecked greed.
- 💼 Labor Exploitation — Wage theft, worker abuse, and unsafe conditions.
- 🛡️ Data Breaches & Privacy Abuses — Misuse and mishandling of personal information.
- 💵 Financial Fraud & Corruption — Lies, scams, and executive impunity.
