$13 million lawsuit claims Black Butte Ranch tolerated sexual harassment by longtime bar employees

Nine former seasonal employees who say they were groped or sexually harassed while working at Oregon’s famous Black Butte Ranch filed a lawsuit Thursday demanding more than $13 million from the resort.

The lawsuit centers on the workplace conduct of Michael Woosley, who worked as a waiter at the ranch bar Robert’s Pub for 38 years and was fired in July 2022 after four of the plaintiffs named in the lawsuit and other employees went to police, according to a police report.

Woosley, 77, told investigators he was known as “Mr. Black Butte” because he was popular with the owners of the private homes surrounding the ranch and denied the employees’ allegations.

“I don’t understand why these kids ganged up on me,” he said, according to a police report by Black Butte police Officer Craig Cunningham.

Deschutes County prosecutors charged Woosley in November 2022 with sexually abusing two of the plaintiffs and harassing the third. Woosley took a plea deal, was found guilty of third-degree sexual abuse and harassment and sentenced to 30 days in jail last June, court records show.

Woosley was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

The 1,800-acre ranch northwest of Sisters is an upscale resort known for its golf courses, spa, fishing and other recreational activities.

Former busboy Brody Anderson told police that Woosley made numerous sexually charged comments and repeatedly groped him – and then tried to dismiss it as a joke when Anderson, now 20, asked him to stop.

Woolsey was convicted of sexually abusing Anderson, who spoke at a press conference after the lawsuit was filed.

“He tried to make us question our sexuality,” Anderson said, adding that Woolsey was known for inappropriately touching the teenagers who typically worked on the ranch each summer.

Anderson said he and others reported the behavior to Black Butte management, but Woosley got off with a “slap on the wrist” and employees were discouraged from contacting authorities.

Jason Kafoury, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, said he is meeting with the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office and will ask prosecutors to file new charges against Woosley in connection with the other six plaintiffs.

The allegations in the lawsuit range from 2021 to Woosley’s firing in 2022.

Neither the district attorney’s office nor a spokesman for Black Butte Ranch immediately responded to a request for comment.

—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and court issues for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083, [email protected] or @pdxzane.

Our journalism needs your support. Become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe.