A 51-year-old former personal assistant to film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer, his wife and his stepdaughter is suing all three, alleging she was subjected to discrimination and harassment because she is a woman and of Polish descent.
Marta Strodes’ Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges she was forced to quit in 2018 because of her work conditions. She seeks unspecified damages in the complaint filed Monday.
A representative for the 76-year-old Bruckheimer, his wife, 74-year-old novelist Linda Sue Bruckheimer, and his stepdaughter, Alexandra Balahoutis, could not be immediately reached.
Strodes worked in the Bruckheimer home in Beverly Hills from February 2017 until she quit in November 2018, the suit states. She primarily assisted Balahoutis, according tot he suit.
Balahoutis subjected Strodes to ongoing discrimination and harassment on the basis of her Polish origin and because she was a woman, the suit states. Balahoutis mocked the plaintiff’s accent and insinuated that she was unintelligent, the suit states.
Balahoutis assigned Strodes “extreme and unreasonable demands which were designed to set Strodes up for failure and to humiliate and belittle her in the process,” the suit states. Balahoutis once sent Strodes “on a wild goose chase for hours to only later taunt her for failing to meet Balahoutis’ unreasonable and irrational demands,” it continues.
Balahoutis demanded that Strodes work long hours beyond her normal shift, causing the plaintiff to often miss her meal and rest breaks, the suit states.
Male household staff members “were not treated in the same discriminatory and humiliating manner as Strodes and the other female household staff,” the suit states.
Strodes also was forced to make purchases for Balahoutis on the plaintiff’s personal credit cards because the credit card the plaintiff was provided to cover Balahoutis’ expenses was continually rejected, the suit states.
Strodes reported her working conditions to her supervisor and to the temporary staffing agency that originally placed her at this job, but no investigation was conducted nor were any corrective actions taken, the suit states.
“Instead, Strodes’ supervisor told her that the only option was to quit,” the suit states.
Strodes asked if she could work instead as the personal assistant to Linda Bruckheimer, but her request was denied, the suit states.
Strodes began suffering symptoms of emotional distress, including but not limited to, insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, digestive disorders, compromised immune system, dizziness, weakness, physical and emotional exhaustion, the suit states.
By October 2018, Strodes was “left with no option but to quit,” the suit states.
After telling the Bruckheimers that she was leaving, her male supervisor physically grabbed her and threw her out of the room, the suit states.
Some of Bruckheimer’s best-known films include “Flashdance,” “Top Gun,” “Black Hawk Down” and the “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchises.
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