L Brands settles workplace misconduct lawsuit prior to Victoria’s Secret spinoff

L Brands has reached a settlement to end a shareholder that alleged a toxic workplace culture of sexual harassment and misogyny at its Victoria’s Secret division.

As part of the settlement, which comes days before L Brands will spin off Victoria’s Secret from Bath & Body Works, both brands will maintain a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion council within the company, strengthen policies and procedures for reporting and investigating sexual harassment complaints and hire a DEI consultant.

Following the spin-off of Victoria’s Secret & Co., the settlement terms will apply to both the Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret.  Each has committed to invest $45 million over at least five years to fund its governance policies.

The settlement was negotiated by a Special Committee of the Board, helmed by board chair Sarah Nash.

“This global resolution, with its commitment to industry-leading governance policies, is an overwhelmingly positive result for the Company and its stockholders,” said Nash. “It further prepares both Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret for success as independent public companies with strong management teams and boards of directors committed to principles of diversity, equity and inclusion.”