Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | June 7, 2021 | wbjournal.com M ost of Wormtown Brewery's ownership team will step back from business operations at the largest brewery in Worcester aer allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment the company described as "disturbing and heartbreaking" circulated on social media, Wormtown said in a statement on May 27. e statement did not specify who exactly fell under that category, but a staff page at the time listed five people at the head of the company, including Managing Partner David Fields, Partner Rich Clarke, Partner Jay "Digger" Clarke and CFO Kary Shumway. Founding Partner Ben Roesch, the fih leader, will continue in his role, according to Wormtown's statement. e allegations, which appear to have first begun circulating on May 26, were first posted to Instagram Stories by Brienne Allan, a brewer at Notch Brewing in Salem, on her Instagram account @ratmagnet. Allan has been in the spotlight for weeks aer she began fielding and sharing stories about sexism in the cra beer industry earlier in May. ose stories ballooned to include reports of discrimination, racism and harassment around the country. Wormtown, which was founded in 2010, is the fourth largest brewery headquartered in Central Massachusetts, and the largest in the city of Worcester. In 2019, it brewed 30,000 barrels of beer. e brewery opened a location at Patriot Place in Foxborough in 2019, and the same year was named the official brewery of the Worcester Red Sox. e anonymous allegations on Allan's Instagram Stories paint a picture of Wormtown as a hypermasculine workplace where employees were subjected to sexist and racist comments, harassment based on race, gender and sexual orientation, as well as pay discrimination. One complaint alleged harassment was perpetrated by multiple people at the company, including ownership. Another anonymous complaint from a person who described themselves as of Asian descent alleged that person was sexually harassed by a former colleague more than once, and accused the company's general manager of falsely claiming pay equity would be in place among taproom employees while providing opportunities for advancement to white staff members. e same complaint alleged a brewery owner suggested naming a beer aer said employee, floating a racist trope as the would-be beer's name. A separate complaint alleged, when a female employee broached harassment issues with one of Wormtown's owners, the owner responded that he had been sexually harassed by women at the company, too. Another complaint alleged sexual harassment at Wormtown was routine. e only member of the leadership team specifically named in the allegations was Jay "Digger" Clarke. At least one complaint specifically accused Clarke of drinking excessively in the taproom, berating female department managers, and of having female staff members drive him home or to hotel rooms while intoxicated. e complaint accused Clarke of coercing three female employees into visiting a strip club with him. Wormtown did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the allegations. In the company's May 27 statement, General Manager Scott Metzger described the reports shared on Instagram as "disturbing and heartbreaking." "Wormtown Brewery is successful because of our passionate and committed team," Metzger said in the statement. "at any member of our team may have experienced the harassing and discriminatory behaviors described, is not acceptable." e statement detailed specific actions the company was taking to combat workplace harassment and discrimination, and noted the company established a committee to make recommendations and improve workplace culture, which has already reportedly met twice. e actions Wormtown is reportedly taking include investigating alleged reports of misconduct and taking disciplinary action against perpetrators; reviewing and updating company policies; implementing mandatory diversity, equity and inclusion training for all employees, as well as enhanced leadership training for supervisors; and, evaluating and implementing internal and external human resources options. Metzger said Wormtown plans to create an advisory board to help steer the business, with more information on the board to be forthcoming. "While there is work to do, we know a critical first step is to make room to listen and learn, and in turn, to provide support in the most helpful ways we can," Metzger said. Notably, the May reckoning within the cra beer industry came just weeks aer Mass. Bay Brewing Co. in Boston, the makers of Harpoon, and the Massachusetts Brewers Guild announced they were launching a website toolkit aimed at providing resources for furthering diversity, equity and inclusion work at breweries in Massachusetts. e initiative, HopForwardEquality.com, was designed to help diversify an industry that has historically been dominated by white, male stakeholders. C E N T R A L M AS S I N B R I E F Bulk of Wormtown Brewery ownership steps back amid accusations of harassment, sexism, racism V E R BAT I M On the run "We've been battling the virus for too long, but today we have an opportunity to put an exclamation point on all the hard work that so many people have done." Gov. Charlie Baker, celebrating the May 29 end of business restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic Marathon museum "It will be of significant importance to the economic growth and development not only of Hopkinton, but also to the entire MetroWest region." Hopkinton Town Manager Norman Khumalo, discussing the newly announced $25-million International Marathon Center slated for downtown Plastics partnership "Together, we have developed a winning strategy for developing high-quality products and strong relationships with retailers, and we look forward to continuing our momentum as we launch innovative products to the market." Dave Reilly, CEO of Leominster manufacturer United Solutions, announcing an extension of his company's contract with national storage container company Rubbermaid BY MONICA BENEVIDES Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer W PHOTO | COURTESY OF WORMTOWN BREWERY

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