Armani Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit

Case Name: Fabio Silva v. Giorgio Armani Corp., et al.

Case Type: Discrimination, Retaliation, Wrongful Termination

Filed in: Supreme Court of the State of New York

Case no.: 159449/2015

Case Summary

On September 15, 2015, Sanford Heisler Sharp filed a lawsuit against global fashion brand Armani and its New York-based corporate retailer Presidio International, Inc. (“Armani”) on behalf of Fabio Silva, the company’s former General Counsel and Vice President for Legal Affairs based in New York.

The Complaint alleges discrimination based on national origin and disability, and retaliation, in violation of the New York City Human Rights Law. Also named as defendants in the Complaint are Giorgio Fornari, Chief Operations Officer; and Lucinda Rosso, Senior Vice President of Organizational Development and Human Resources.

Mr. Silva, who is Mexican, was hired as Armani’s General Counsel in 2014. During his tenure, he was repeatedly subjected to offensive and derogatory comments about his national origin, including from the company’s Chief Financial Officer, who expressly told Mr. Silva that he “did not trust Mexicans,” the Complaint alleges.

When Mr. Silva reported the discriminatory treatment to Mr. Fornari and Ms. Rosso, they took no action to stop it, the Complaint alleges. Instead, Mr. Silva was placed under increased scrutiny, according to the Complaint.

After Mr. Silva received a strong performance review on April 1, 2015, Mr. Fornari informed Mr. Silva that he would not be receiving a raise due to his complaints about the CFO’s overt discrimination, the Complaint alleges. Instead, Mr. Silva alleges that he was subjected to a surreptitious plan to terminate him. The Company accelerated its plan to terminate Mr. Silva immediately after Mr. Silva shared that he had been diagnosed with cancer, the Complaint alleges.

The Complaint seeks a jury trial.