Former Massage Envy employee sues company, alleges she was sexually assaulted by coworker
Over a month after a customer sued a Massage Envy parlor in Fort Worth, the company and a former employee are being sued over an alleged sexual assault at a Dallas location.
The lawsuit was filed by Houston-based firm Blizzard Greenberg PLLC on Monday in a Dallas County court. The defendants named in the lawsuit are Massage Envy, Trinity Health Spa — which owns and operates Massage Envy franchises in Dallas-Fort Worth — and Tarence Harrison, the former employee accused in the suit of sexually assaulting his female coworker.
On Dec. 27, 2023, the female employee had a massage appointment with Harrison at the Massage Envy at 3699 McKinney Ave. in Dallas, where they both worked at the time, the lawsuit states.
The woman was employed with Massage Envy franchises for 15 years, according to the suit.
Before the massage began, the plaintiff told Harrison she did not want him to work on her legs because they are sensitive and she does not like it, the suit alleges. When Harrison returned to the room after she undressed and lay down, he started the massage with compressions from the feet up, including her legs, she said.
When the plaintiff repeated she did not want him touching her legs, Harrison said he was “just trying to get a feel of what needed to be done,” the suit states.
He then loosely undraped her back to begin working on the area and the plaintiff tucked the sheet under her own hips, believing Harrison was not going to secure the draping, the suit says.
After he finished working on her back, Harrison slid his hands under her underwear and began massaging her buttocks, the suit alleges. She asked him to stop and he responded with “just seeing what needed to be done,” and she asked him to stop a second time, at which point he did, according to the suit.
The woman said she felt shocked and scared by Harrison’s conduct and her concern was to try to stay safe without escalating the situation, according to the suit.
Harrison then moved to massage her legs again with the plaintiff telling him, “Don’t touch my legs. Please don’t touch my legs,” the suit alleges.
It was only after she explained to him she was a victim of abuse and was uncomfortable with her legs being touched that Harrison stopped and said, “Yeah, I can tell you hide your body,” the suit says.
He continued the massage by moving her arm unnaturally, causing pain in her shoulder, the suit alleges. He rolled the plaintiff over and had her facing up on the table, but again, did not secure the draping to keep her chest from being exposed, according to the suit.
Harrison reached under her shoulder and began working on the area, requiring the plaintiff to cover herself quickly and pull her breast away from being touched, the suit alleges. He responded with, “Oh yeah, I guess you should hold that out of the way,” the suit states.
The massage ended shortly after and the woman rushed out of the building to her car, the suit says.
As a result of the assault, the woman has suffered severe mental anguish, emotional distress and psychological trauma, the suit alleges.
The woman notified the clinic manager, who then reported the assault to the Trinity Health Spa district and assistant district managers. But instead of terminating Harrison, as required by Massage Envy’s zero tolerance policy, Trinity Health Spa chose to retrain him, according to the suit.
That marked Harrison’s third training on draping during massages, the suit says.
The Massage Envy franchise expected Harrison and the plaintiff to continue working together, she alleges. She told the assistant district manager she was fearful of Harrison repeating the offense to a customer, the suit says.
Her superiors continued to refuse to fire Harrison, and the assistant district manager also revealed she was the one who informed Harrison that his coworker complained about him, according to the suit. The plaintiff said she never gave the manager permission to disclose that information to him.
It wasn’t until the plaintiff sent an email about the assault to human resources that an investigation into Harrison began, resulting in his termination, according to the suit.
During the investigation and before he was fired, Harrison was transferred to a Massage Envy at 3100 Texas Sage Trail in Fort Worth, the suit says. This location is the same Massage Envy that was sued by a customer in April, alleging a therapist made obscene comments to her and inappropriately touched her.
Harrison’s transfer was another violation of the company’s policy, as employees are supposed to be suspended and removed from work schedules until an investigation is completed, according to the suit.
