Richard Meier Accused of Sexual Misconducts That Went Unchecked For Years

Whether it’s Harvey Weinstein or Richard Meier, how many men in power have abused their power to conduct sexual harassments and assaults that are being silenced and remain unchecked?

Richard Meier is facing increasing numbers of accusations of sexual misconducts and harassment. On Sunday, Karin Bruckner, a former employee of Meier’s architecture firm, said that Mr. Meier approached her during work and rubbed his body up and down against hers. This behavior caught Bruckner by surprise and she reported this incident to a senior associate, John Eisler in the office.

Mr. Eisler, who has devoted over two decades at Meier’s firm, commented that “it’s not something that was a secret”, pointing to the frequency and scale of Meier’s habits of sexual misconduct towards women in the office. He also apologized to Ms. Buckner for not confronting Mr. Meier at the moment.

According to women who have come forward, most reported that they felt that the firm seemed complacent in Mr. Meier’s behaviors, which were commonly known and acknowledged yet not formally addressed or challenged ever.

Richard Meier is not the only man underexposure here – in fact, a number of fields and organizations have been confronted for sexual misconducts and behaviors in the past that went unacknowledged and unstopped because of the powers the individuals usually held.

Mr. Meier, as the founder of Richard Meier & Partners Architects, is of the utmost power and significance in the firm and the firm’s success depended on his fame and success. Therefore, these complaints and accusations about his behaviors often went into nothing in the attempt to keep their jobs and keep the firm running.

Ms. Bruckner acknowledged Mr. Eisler’s apology and recognized his powerlessness in this situation as well: “I don’t think he felt he had any power to do anything about it.” She added that “it’s behavior that goes on for decades and never changes. We don’t go up against the bad guy because it will have a domino effect; if he falls down, everybody else falls down.”

Mr. Meier, now at age 83, was initially accused by five women of sexual harassments, assaults and misconducts. He promised a six-month rest from his firm and apologized for offending anyone with his behaviors.

Since then, four more women have come forward including Ms. Bruckner, Eileen Delgado, a former office manager; Lucy Nathanson, his formal personal assistant; and Liz Lee, the former communications coordinator.

Mr. Meier has released a statement regarding these accusations, stating that these nearly decade-old accusations “do not reflect the ethos and culture of the firm, and it would be irresponsible to allow these personal allegations to tarnish the company.”

While most victims of these allegations remained silent due to fears of losing their jobs, some did speak up. Ms. Delgado, for example, reported Mr. Meier for throwing himself on top of her and in compensation received $25,000. A few others have also received monetary compensations after Mr. Meier’s harassments.

The firm claimed that it has tried to address these accusations with sexual harassment training program and updates in its sexual harassment policies. These measures were deemed effective since no women have come forward after 2009.

In the context of #MeToo movement, this exposure seems particularly important and pertinent. Many of these narratives remained unheard and silenced because of the hierarchy and the power these men typically hold. Ms Bruckner’s story is not an uncommon one and she said that “it turned out that everybody had a story. They all said, ‘Management doesn’t want to hear about it, and the best thing is to just move on.’”