Former Tehama busser sues, alleging retaliation after she reported sexual harassment.

For several years, from 2019-2022, Cella Linda Gutierrez received positive reviews in her job as a busser at the restaurant at Tehama Golf Club. For those years, she also tolerated sexual comments by the chef, who repeatedly sexually harassed her.

That all changed, according to a lawsuit Gutierrez filed on Sept. 22 in Monterey County Superior Court, after she reported the harassment to her superiors. Instead of receiving support from managers, the former employee claims, she faced retaliation and eventually termination. 

Her lawsuit alleges a pattern of comments by Chef Jorge Barragan, who Gutierrez says repeatedly asked her out on dates and, whose conduct escalated on one occasion in 2023 to hugging and kissing her. 

“Ms. Gutierrez did not report him for fear of retaliation,” the lawsuit states. 

In her lawsuit—against Tehama, affiliated Mission Ranch Inc., and Barragan—she alleges a pattern of retaliation that began immediately after she did report the behavior.

It was only after she observed Barragan making sexual comments about another employee who was bending over that Gutierrez reported it to HR. Gutierrez claims in their first meeting, the HR director told her, “Do you know what will happen to Jorge if he is fired? Monterey is a small community. He’ll never get another job.” 

After a series of meetings, Gutierrez says she was reclassified to be an on-call employee, which translated to no work. “This resulted in a de facto suspension where Ms. Gutierrez was kept out of work for the next nine weeks,” the lawsuit states. 

She says she then contacted HR officials from Mission Ranch, and on Aug. 30, 2023, was reinstated at Tehama and received nine weeks of back pay. But upon her return to work, she was derided by coworkers and called a snitch and a narc.

She continued on in her work until a new manager, Vince Ferrante, terminated her in January 2025. 

Neither Ferrante nor a manager for Mission Ranch responded to multiple requests for comment. Barragan could not be reached. It is not clear yet who is representing the defendants in the litigation. 

Gutierrez is seeking an unspecified amount of punitive damages, compensation for economic losses and reinstatement of her job. An initial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2026.