Elite SF club hit with harassment lawsuits after low-wage worker allegedly mocked as ‘hunchback’

One of San Francisco’s most exclusive clubs is facing bombshell allegations of harassment — including from a dishwasher who says he was mocked as a “hunchback” because of his spinal condition. Rene Panti, a kitchen worker since 2021 at The Battery, the elite invite-only club frequented by politicians and celebrities, claimed in his lawsuit that he had to suffer the cruel taunt because of his scoliosis and was even sexually attacked and ridiculed about his genitals. The Battery SF is an elite invite-only joint. Instagram/@thebatterysf “Your penis doesn’t work anymore,’’ a coworker once sneered at him — while a colleague pinched his nipples another time, according to the suit. Panti said in court documents that he was berated weekly for three years by coworkers, who spat discriminatory slurs at him while management did little about besides asking the staff to “stay professional.” The plaintiff, who has congenital scoliosis, which is curvature of the spine, said that in addition to being called a “hunchback,” he also was derided as “useless.” Xochi Birch (left) and Michael Birch founded The Battery, one of San Francisco’s most exclusive luxury social clubs. He and another worker filed separate lawsuits against The Battery within the past
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