Tiger Woods sued over workplace sexual harassment

Pro golfer Tiger Woods’ ex-girlfriend of five years has sued him for sexual harassment, claiming she was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement or be fired from her job at his restaurant The Woods Jupiter, according to a document filed by her attorney on Friday.

Erica Herman claims Woods pursued her sexually while she was employed at his restaurant in south Florida, then forced her to sign the NDA to keep the relationship under wraps. She wants $30 million in damages.

“On Mr. Woods’ own portrayal of events, he imposed an NDA on [Herman] as a condition to keep her job when she began having a sexual relationship with him. A boss imposing different work conditions on his employee because of their sexual relationship is sexual harassment,” Herman’s lawyer Benjamin Hobas wrote in the filing.

“When he became disgruntled with their sexual relationship, he tricked her into leaving her home, locked her out, took her cash, pets, and personal possessions, and tried to strong-arm her into signing a different NDA,” it continues.

Herman initially sued Woods via the trust that manages his residence in October following their breakup, alleging he had agreed to allow her to stay at the house for another five years only to trick her into leaving, in violation of their agreement.

Woods, citing the NDA that he made her sign at the restaurant, insisted that any disputes between the two be worked out in confidential arbitration, dismissing Herman as a “jilted ex-girlfriend who wants to publicly litigate specious claims in court.” 

Herman then sued Woods directly in March, citing a new federal law that could annul NDAs if a “sexual harassment dispute” was present, and demanding to be released from hers.

Friday’s filing details how Woods allegedly told Herman to pack for a last-minute weekend getaway to the Bahamas in October, and even had her driven to the airport – where she was confronted by Woods’ attorney, who told her she was never seeing the golfer or their house again. 

Herman “had been locked out of the house, and could not return,” the filing reads. “She would not even be able to see the children or her pets again.”

The lawyer allegedly “proceeded to insult Ms. Herman, [advised] her she had no legal rights, and [tried] to force her to agree to a [different] non-disclosure and arbitration agreement,” according to the filing. This time, she refused to sign.