Fry’s settles with two Renton employees in harassment suit

Fry’s Electronics will pay two former employees at the Renton store more than $2 million to settle their sexual harassment lawsuit against the company.

Ka Lam was fired in 2007 when he tried to report sexting and other inappropriate contact between a store manager and an young female employee, America Rios. Knowing that he wouldn’t have much luck reporting the case to the head of the store, he went to corporate headquarters in San Jose. It kicked the investigation back to Renton where Lam, a top seller, was let go. Rios was also fired.

Lam said he could not stand by and do nothing, even though it might cost him his job. “I could not go to sleep if I didn’t do the right thing,” he said. “This settlement should serve as a deterrent and a reminder to any companies out there that they need to do the right thing.”

“I can finally put this behind me and move on,” Rios said about Thursday’s settlement.

As part of the deal, Fry’s must step-up its sexual harassment training and report any complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The person responsible for the harassment no longer works at the Renton store, but the store manager is still on the job.

Fry’s released a statement saying they dispute the allegations brought about in the lawsuit but settled to avoid additional litigation costs “and bring finality to this matter.”