by Scott Mac Kay
Staff Writer
Allegations of sexual harassment and drinking on the job forced Norm Venables into a six-month silence that began on Dec. 19, 1995, when Venables was fired as director of dining services, and given 15 minutes to leave the University of La Verne campus, instructed never to return.
“I was told not to talk to Campus Times. I was told not to go back on campus. And I listened to everyone and then said screw it,” said Venables.
According to Venables, on Dec. 19, Paul D. Nelson, vice president for the Pacific Region of Aramark, and Sharon Roth, district manager, met with President Stephen Morgan, Dr. Len Hightower, assistant to the president, and Dr. Loretta Rahmani, dean of student affairs.
In a letter to the Campus Times, Venables stated, “At 2:30 p.m. they came to visit with me. Paul Nelson’s first words were, ‘We’ve just told Steve, Len, and Loretta that I’m here today to terminate you because you’ve been accused of sexual harassment and in such cases you’re guilty until proven innocent.'”
A seven-page letter sent to Aramark corporate headquarters in Philadelphia outlined the charges against Venables.
“Apparently it was one of the employees. From what I was told, I asked for sexual favors, which is the legalese for sexual harassment,” said Venables. “And the person I asked for these sexual favors was compelled to give them to me because she, in turn, thought she would lose her job if she didn’t. She was so terrified of me that she acquiesced to my sexual demands. Basically, in a nutshell, the charges are unwarranted.”
“Norm was an employee of Aramark, not the University, and Aramark management informed us of their proposed action against Norm as a courtesy to us and also as a piece of information to us,” said Dr. Morgan.
“It was a shock when they came to me and said Steve wants you off campus because he doesn’t want the Campus Times to get a hold of the story,” said Venables.
“I probably said to them [Nelson and Roth], normally when we dismiss an employee, not by a mutual agreement of any kind and it’s action by the employer against the employee, we usually suggest the employee be asked to leave the campus and not return to the campus,” Dr. Morgan said.
Nelson refused to comment on Venables’ termination.
“Basically, the sexual harassment thing has dropped through the cracks, and it was totally untrue to begin with,” said Venables.
John G. Wixted, assistant general counsel for Aramark in Philadelphia, Pa., would not comment on whether Aramark would prosecute or follow up on the allegations of sexual harassment.
“Its not only in the interests of Aramark, but in the best interests of Mr. Venables that we do not comment on the matter of his termination,” said Wixted.
“Now they are zeroing in on the drinking situation. Which is true, I was drinking at Nick’s in the afternoon, but I wasn’t abusing alcohol,” said Venables.
He also admits to drinking some home-brewed beer in the President’s Dining Room behind “locked doors.”
“I do not recall ever noticing that I thought Norm was under the intoxicating effects of alcohol,” said Dr. Morgan. “And if a ULV employee was caught drinking on the job, we would take immediate action, which could be termination.”
“They [Aramark] gave me a letter and said, if you sign this letter, which waived all my legal rights, they would then give me six weeks’ pay,” said Venables. “They also said if I signed this letter, and offered a letter of resignation, saying that due to the pressures of traffic or due to whatever, then if I applied for a job somewhere they would back me when it came to a job search. I said absolutely not. I didn’t do it.
“They did deny me unemployment,” said Venables.
In a letter to Amy Greyson, Venables’ lawyer, Wixted states that “On March 20, 1996, I personally contacted the Employment Development Department (EDD) of the State of California to determine if there was any record of a response filed by Aramark regarding Mr. Venables claim. I was advised that the EDD had no record of any response to such claims filed by Aramark.”
Attached to the letter was a copy of a Record of Claims Status Interview dated Jan. 26, 1996. In the interview, Scott Wright, human resources director for the Pacific Region of Aramark, had Venables disqualified for unemployment because of his drinking on the job.
When asked about this contradiction, Wixted said, “I don’t think I can comment on this confidential matter.”
“I enjoyed going to work everyday because it was always something just great happening,” said Venables. “I knew everybody and loved everybody. We were trying to improve things, you know, and I just loved the students.”
“I think people across the University were generally very satisfied with Norm’s performance; he had a warm winning personality,” said Dr. Morgan. “And I think the quality of service and the quality of food both for the dining hall and at catering events was very satisfactory.”
“My dream is to return to ULV, but ethically, I could not work for Aramark,” said Venables.
