In a discrimination lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, a male compliance specialist said that his former employer fostered a discriminatory workplace culture favoring female employees, leading to his dismissal in November 2023.

The fired employee at Doral-based Guidewell Sanitas I LLC is alleging his termination was part of a company-wide strategy to “remove all men” from the workplace.

In Escorcia v. Guidewell Sanitas I LLC, the plaintiff and his attorney claim the organization discriminated against him based on his sex, and retaliated against him when he reported the alleged discrimination to human resources.

Dun & Bradstreet lists defendant Guidewell Sanitas as a medical services company.

Alex Escorcia contends the discriminatory practices began when Daisy Dara, a female manager, was promoted to director of compliance. After taking on the role, Dara allegedly created a workplace atmosphere that favored female employees, denying Escorcia and other male colleagues promotional and advancement opportunities, according to the complaint.

Escorcia’s attempts to secure a raise and a promotion in 2022 were reportedly blocked, and he claims Dara re-posted the position he sought shortly after informing him it had been dissolved, ultimately awarding it to a female employee.

Employment, labor, discrimination and workers' compensation attorney Daniel Harrison Hunt represents the plaintiff.

Counsel has yet to make an appearance for the defendant, and an email to Guidewell went unanswered by press time.
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'Is He a Whistleblower?'

Hunt said that his client contends that this former employer predetermined it wanted to hire all females and overlooked his client for positions or advancement.

"They basically told him that they were going to get rid of all the men," Hunt said. "So that's why we have a sex-gender complaint going on."

Escorcia claims in the complaint that Dara violated company policy by failing to make open positions available to internal candidates before external postings, intentionally preventing him from advancing.

The complaint further contends Dara specifically wanted to fill higher-level positions with female candidates, sidelining Escorcia and other male employees despite their qualifications.

Escorcia alleges a pattern in which less experienced female employees were repeatedly promoted over him.

"We have clear language from the employer that they were getting rid of all the men," Hunt claimed. "I don't necessarily know that it goes higher up above those people named in the complaint because there are men who are much higher up. I think it was just in the level or two [levels] above where my client was that had these women that were trying to get rid of the men."

After Escorcia reported Dara’s alleged conduct to HR, he claimed he faced a campaign of retaliation by his female managers. He alleged he was subjected to micromanagement, tasked with additional responsibilities, and accused of poor teamwork, which he contends were calculated steps to force his resignation or set the groundwork for his termination.

Escorcia’s employment ended in November 2023—allegedly the culmination of discriminatory and retaliatory treatment designed to eliminate male employees from the organization.

In response to his termination, Escorcia filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Florida Commission on Human Relations in March 2024, and he received a right to sue letter from the EEOC in August 2024, the complaint said.

The employee's attorney is also not ruling out a whistleblower claim.

"As director of compliance, he's supposed to research internal fraud and compliance," Hunt said. "So^,is he a whistleblower? I don't know the timing. I'm still trying to work out on that."
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'Male Is a Protected Class'

Hunt said his case will rely on Title VII and The Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, which prohibit discrimination in employment.

The first version of the FCRA was enacted after Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in pursuing claims of sex discrimination and retaliation under the Florida Civil Rights Act.

"My client is a member of a protected class," Hunt said. "Male is a protected class under the Florida Civil Rights Act. You can't discriminate against someone because they're a male. A lot of people don't believe that, right? ... because they [often] think that males are more dominant and paid more in the work situation. The law is gender blind, and the law is blind as to race."

Hunt concedes the case will be challenging.

"Is it going be hard to prove? Yes. Is it going to be hard to convince a jury that a male was discriminated against? Yes. But there are witnesses, and they will testify as to what they saw was going on and I think that the makeup of the department that my client was in will show that it progressively just became all female."

Escorcia seeks compensatory damages for lost wages, emotional distress, and punitive damages, arguing that Guidewell Sanitas’s actions were "willful and malicious."

Additionally, he requests back pay, front pay and attorney fees.

The complaint seeks damages in excess of $50,000. At the time of his dismissal, Escorcia was making $66,000 a year.