Former Sphere employee claims wrongful termination in lawsuit

A Sphere employee says he was wrongfully terminated by the entertainment company after reporting incidents of sexual misconduct that he observed.

In a new lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court, former Sphere cook Brian Giovanni Gomez is claiming Sphere Entertainment Group retaliated after he reported observations of sexual misconduct and was subsequently terminated, according to the lawsuit. Gomez is suing on two counts of retaliation.

Sphere Entertainment Group didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

According to the lawsuit filed Sept. 2, Gomez was employed as a cook at the Sphere from Aug. 2, 2023, to September 2024 and was “performing his duties in a satisfactory manner.”

On July 11, 2024, Gomez reported “certain junior sous chefs” to human resources for sexual misconduct with other female employees. According to the lawsuit, Gomez said he observed “inappropriate language and physical touching” from the sous chefs towards female co-workers.

Following his report, Gomez claims in the lawsuit that his hours were cut from four days to three days, and on Sept. 14, 2024, he was “discharged.”

“The temporal proximity between when Plaintiff first contacted human resources and his termination, a mere 10-days later, establishes a causal link between his protected activity and his termination,” the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit is demanding a jury trial as well as compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages.

Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.