Sanat Ranganathan – A Classist & Abusive Attorney (2023)
Sanat Ranganathan is a lawyer who was able to roam around scot-free after verbally berating and threatening a female coworker.
He did so, just a few years ago.
But Sanat Ranganathan faced no repercussions for his actions because the female worker was a janitor while he was an attorney.
In the following review, I have explained the incident where he verbally abused a female coworker. Moreover, I have gone through the consequences he faced for his actions:
Who is Sanat Ranganathan?
Sanat is the Principal Attorney at the Law Offices of Sanat Ranganathan. He grew up in Asia and has spent a considerable amount of time in Holland and England.
Sanat attended the Warwick University School of Law in the UK, Leiden University Europa Institute in the Netherlands, and Duke University School of Law in the US.
He claims to have helped companies with Contracts Drafting, International Law, Commercial Law, Dispute Resolution, Civil Rights, and Contracts Negotiations. Right now, he is the principal attorney at the Law Offices of Sanat Ranganathan.
The most notable part of his career is when he became a university attorney for Northern Illinois University. There, his treatment of a female janitor made her feel traumatized. In the next section of this review, I’ll explain the incident further:
When Sanat Ranganathan was “Reprimanded” for Threatening and Verbally Abusing a Female Employee
In 2019, Susan Phelps was cleaning offices on the third floor of Altgeld Hall. It’s the same building that houses the NIU President’s office.
She heard a man’s voice asking who was there and she replied by saying that she was cleaning.
Suddenly, Sanat Ranganathan charged in.
Susan said that he started yelling at her, asking how long she had worked there. Then, he started asking how long had her coworkers worked there.
After questioning her credibility, Sanat said, “How dare you go to my boss” regarding a problem related to a few tissues.
Susan Phelps, who had been working at NIU for 13 years before this incident, was scared.
Sanat was yelling at her aggressively. Susan shared that she put a bin between him and her to protect herself. She didn’t want to get hurt.
‘He was throwing his arms in the air’ according to Susan. She highlighted that he was screaming at her and she was afraid that he might hit her any moment.
Documents reveal that Phelps had approached a staff member in the office in November 2018 because someone had left tissues on the floor. She wanted the staffer to clean up better after themselves.
According to the University documents, Sanat was not the person leaving those tissues in the office. But in April 2019, he thought Susan was accusing him of being the tissue-leaving employee.
More on the Incident:
Susan tried getting away from him but Sanat charged toward her in the stairwell. He shouted, “We’re not done”.
Several witnesses backed up Susan’s claims.
After the traumatizing incident, Susan started using her sick leave and vacation time. Sanat Ranganathan was the associate general counsel for the university.
Susan reported Sanat’s behavior to the general counsel and the NIU Human Resources department.
The university conducted an internal investigation and told Sanat to work from home during the process.
Also, they ordered him to complete an employee assistance program with HR to address his conduct. Sanat returned after the investigation was complete.
What Sanat Ranganathan Said in Response:
Sanat Ranganathan gave a statement to the Daily Chronicle. He said he had never met Susan Phelps before this incident.
Furthermore, he claimed that the conversation was friendly and collegial.
He said he followed Susan into the stairwell only to clarify why she was upset. Also, he said he was sorry for what he called a ‘miscommunication’.
Sanat said he hollered across the hallway and he only wanted to add ‘Please tell your colleague to verify the right person next time as it makes me look bad’.
He says Susan started crying and went away. Then, he adds that he was shocked and followed her to know why she was crying.
In his statement, Sanat makes it seem as if he had a simple, friendly conversation with her. According to multiple witnesses, this was definitely not the case.
The Weak Punishment Sanat Ranganathan Faced:
As his punishment for verbally berating and traumatizing a female staff member, the university issued him a formal reprimand. Also, they instructed him to undergo human resources training.
That’s it.
He didn’t receive any further punishment for his near-violent and frightening outburst at a female staffer.
Gregory Brady, head of the general counsel office, had issued a formal letter of reprimand against Ranganathan. Brady said his actions were not what is expected of his position and were unacceptable.
In the letter, Brady said Ranganathan appears to have trouble letting go of incidents. The tissue matter was from November 2018. Yet, Sanat approached Susan in April 2019.
The union condemned this lack of action and called it an ‘urgent safety concern’. Sara Dorner, the staff representative, said allowing Sanat to return to work would send the wrong message to staff members.
The union felt that NIU should have a zero-tolerance policy. They pointed out that Sanat Ranganathan verbally accosted a female coworker. She tried to escape him and he followed her twice.
By issuing such a weak punishment, the NIU administration sent a message that such behavior is acceptable.
Phelps wanted the university to fire Ranganathan who was making $80,000 a year as the institute’s counsel.
Sanat isn’t the only guy who was able to avoid any real punishment because of his wealth and status. James Khuri was able to save his son from facing any serious jail time when he ran over a young girl through his purchasing power.
Conclusion
Imagine your mother comes home from work one day, scared and frightened. Why? Because one of her coworkers threatened her in the workplace.
How would you react?
Furthermore, how would you feel if that abusive coworker faces no punishment for his malicious actions?
Whatever emotions come into your mind were exactly the ones Susan’s family members must have felt at the time. Sadly, they didn’t get the justice they deserve.
What are your thoughts? Do you think a lawyer should be allowed to verbally berate a female janitor in the workplace? What should be the punishment for such workplace abuse?
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I feel bad for Natalie. Imagine being married to a misogynist and abusive classist who doesn’t even hesitate to raise his voice against women. She must be living in absolute hell. I hope for her sake that she leaves this monster. No woman should suffer with a guy like Sanat.
Hurling abuses at someone weaker and less privileged is pretty common for men like Sanat Ranganathan.
I used to know a man like him. These guys have very fragile egos and act like they are invincible. In reality they are just scared of getting exposed.
I’m fairly certain that Sanat has some deep narcissistic problems. He must be really difficult to work with.
I have worked with Mr. Ranganathan when he was at the University.
What happened was very unfortunate.
But his position made many of us helpless. All the University could do was cut its losses.
I agree it wasn’t enough. But the university was afraid of alienating other law firms. It didn’t want to meddle in the matter.
The female janitor in question was traumatized. She hasn’t been well since the incident.
Yeah it’s terrible but there’s nothing you can do about him.
Sanat Ranganathan is a rich lawyer and as long as he has his connections and wealth, he can keep harassing female janitors. Companies don’t care if their general counsel is harassing their female janitor.
They just don’t. I know it’s a hard pill to swallow but that’s just how the world works.
Sanat Ranganathan faced no consequences after this incident. He nearly assaulted a female janitor for no reason and got away with it.
I looked him up today and the man is living his life to the fullest. I have nothing against people enjoying themselves but not when it’s being done at the expense of others.
Sanat Ranganathan is launching an online business while that female janitor probably lost her job. There is no way to reach out to her.
He is a rich lawyer who has probably faced no problems in his life compared to a poor female worker.
Nobody does janitorial work because they love the work. Its disgusting work.
You don’t work as a janitor unless your life’s circumstances force you to.
She was probably doing everything she can to provide for her family. And then, you have a misogynist like Sanat Ranganathan who goes around chasing women, yelling at them and threatening them while he does so.
How unfortunate.
Sanat Ranganathan makes women feel uncomfortable in the workplace. He is a misogynist and this news is proof of that. I’m surprised to see that he is allowed to offer his litigation services even though he has been violent against women in his office.
So you are telling me, the man ran after a female janitor, threatened her with violence and faced literally no consequences?!
Sanat ranganathan is a great example of how violent men get away with so much in this country.
What kind of a man threatens a female janitor for a tissue? Appaling.