A judge said Monday he may fine a former executive assistant to Hollywood producer Yuri Spiro, CEO of WestWorld Productions Inc., for failing to appear for a court proceeding in a lawsuit she filed against her former boss.
Plaintiff Jesseca Harvey’s Los Angeles County Superior Court complaint alleges harassment, hostile work environment and wrongful constructive termination, as well as multiple violations of the state Labor Code. She maintains Spiro subjected her to antisemitic rants as well as sexual harassment and that she finally quit in 2023 because she could no longer work under such intolerable conditions.
But when neither Harvey nor an attorney representing her showed up Monday, Judge Peter A. Hernandez scheduled an April 29, 2025, hearing on why the plaintiff should not be fined for being absent. The judge did not indicate how much he may assess against Harvey.
In previous court papers, Spiro attorney Linda Miller Savitt denied Harvey’s allegations and cited multiple defenses, including that the plaintiff’s claims are “barred in whole or in part because plaintiff consented to the conduct alleged in the complaint.”
Harvey was hired in April 2022 and was misclassified as an independent contractor, leaving her underpaid throughout her employment and denying her protections an employee would be afforded under California law, according to the lawsuit, which further states that the plaintiff “found herself working practically around the clock answering calls and handling tasks for Spiro after she was provided with a phone connected to his to stay on top of his schedule.”
Spiro subjected Harvey to harassment and racism as well as a “barrage of relentless sexual innuendos and racist comments plunging her into profound emotional distress,” the complaint alleges.
Spiro once told Harvey that she should “loosen up,” then said, “You’re as stubborn as a virgin during her first time,” the suit states.
Spiro also compared the secretary of his homeowners association to “left liberal Nazis” and told Harvey and a salesman at a car dealership that he wanted to change the Mercedes-Benz emblem to a swastika, according to the complaint.
Harvey resigned in July 2023 and she still deals with anxiety, depression and physical distress stemming from her former alleged toxic work environment and remains unpaid for some of her work done, the suit brought March 14 states.