Guess Founder Paul Marciano To Resign After Investigation Into Improper Conduct

David Moye

Fashion designer Paul Marciano has announced he will resign as the executive chairman of the board at Guess after an internal investigation into whether he engaged in sexual misconduct.

In addition, the company has paid out $500,000 in non-confidential settlements to five people who accused Marciano of inappropriate conduct, The Blast reports.

An internal document obtained by the website said that, although many of the allegations couldn’t be corroborated, there was evidence that “Mr. Marciano exercised poor judgment in his communications with models and photographers and in placing himself in situations in which plausible allegations of improper conduct could, and did, arise.”

After the findings were presented to the Guess board on June 7, Marciano told board members he would be resigning and his brother, Maurice, would take over his duties.

Bloomberg reporter Kim Bhasin said Marciano gets to stay on until January, when his contract expires.

The allegations against Marciano first came to light in February after model Kate Upton posted a tweet accusing Marciano of using his power to harass women, according to Reuters.

Upton said Marciano repeatedly groped her, a practice that began on her first day of a lingerie modeling shoot with Guess in July 2010, when she was 18.

“Paul Marciano said he wanted to meet with me,” she told the magazine. “As soon as I walked in with photographer Yu Tsai, Paul came straight up to me, forcibly grabbed my breasts and started feeling them — playing with them actually. After I pushed him away, he said, ‘I’m making sure they’re real.’”

After Upton accused Marciano, Guess’ shares fell more than 17 percent. Shortly after, the company’s board formed a special committee made up of two independent directors to oversee an investigation into accusations against Marciano.

HuffPost reached out to Upton, who did not immediately respond.

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When it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace many picture the blatant sexism of the "Mad Men" era, however, workplace harassment (sadly) comes in all forms. From an unwelcome sexual comment to inappropriate physical touching, sexual harassment should be reported every time, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/workplace-sexual-harassment-poll_n_3823671.html" target="_blank">yet it's not always so easy for victims to speak up</a>. With allegations of sexual assault spanning various workplaces -- including (but not limited to)<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/17/terry-richardson-sexual-harassment-anna-del-gaizo_n_5501175.html" target="_blank"> the fashion industry</a> and<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/03/tinder-whitney-wolfe-sexual-harassment-lawsuit_n_5555660.html?utm_hp_ref=technology&ir=Technology" target="_blank"> tech startups </a>-- it's no surprise that workplace harassment is still common, even when it's not making front page news. In 2011, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission <a href="http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-at-work/workplace-sexual-harassment/" target="_blank">received 11,364 complaints of sexual harassment</a>, 84 percent of which were filed by women and 16 percent by men. <a href="http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-at-work/workplace-sexual-harassment/" target="_blank">The American Association of University Women also reported that a telephone poll of 782 U.S. workers revealed </a>that of the 38 percent of workers who said they had been sexually harassed, less than half reported their harassment. <strong>Inspired by our friends over at <a href="http://jezebel.com/women-post-awful-tales-of-workplace-harassment-on-secre-1601929462" target="_blank">Jezebel</a>, we rounded up 11 testimonies found on the anonymous message-sharing app <a href="http://whisper.sh/stories/" target="_blank">Whisper</a> that speak to the bravery required to report their harassers, but also the relief they feel once they do.</strong>

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