UES Equinox fired employee after he reported sexual harassment: lawsuit

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A former Manhattan Equinox manager has filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired after accusing his boss of sexual harassment, according to a report.

Harold De Longchamp was working as a general manager at an Equinox on East 85th Street on the Upper East Side when his regional manager, Adam Gecht, began directing sexually inappropriate remarks toward him, a new lawsuit reported on by the New York Post claims.

In January 2019, Gecht told De Longchamp his mustache made him look "like a child molester," the lawsuit claims, according to the outlet.

Three months later, in May 2019, De Longchamp and other Equinox employees were wearing bathing suits by a pool during a work event in Florida when Gecht whispered "nice bulge" in his ear within earshot of other managers, the suit reportedly alleges.

The lawsuit accuses Gecht of saying he "admired that De Longchamp was gay because he could 'be sexually promiscuous,'" the outlet reported.

It also accuses him of telling De Longchamp he was "the gayest Equinox employee I know," according to the outlet.

De Longchamp complained to the company's Human Resources department on two separate occasions, but nothing was done, the lawsuit claims.

He was fired in January 2020, after being told he and higher-ups at the company didn't "see eye to eye on things any longer," the outlet reported.

"Defendants' true reason for terminating plaintiff was solely due to discrimination on the basis of his sex/gender (male) and sexual orientation (gay) and for complaining of said discrimination," the lawsuit charges, according to the outlet.

Gecht declined the Post's request for comment on the lawsuit. An Equinox representative, meanwhile, told the outlet the company does not comment on pending litigation.