US woman spanked at work sues for $1.2 million (Associated Press) Updated: 2006-04-27 09:15
Lawyers for a Californian woman who was spanked in front of her co-workers as part of
what her employer said was a camaraderie-building exercise asked a jury
Wednesday for at least $1.2 million for the humiliation she claimed to have
suffered.
Janet Orlando, 53, quit her job at the home security company
Alarm One Inc. in Fresno and sued, alleging discrimination, assault, battery and
infliction of emotional distress.
Employees were paddled with rival companies' yard signs as part of a contest
that pitted sales teams against each other, according to court documents. The
winners poked fun at the losers, throwing pies at them, feeding them baby food,
making them wear diapers and swatting their buttocks.
"No reasonable middle-aged woman would want to be put up there before a group
of young men, turned around to show her buttocks, get spanked and called abusive
names, and told it was to increase sales and motivate employees," her lawyer,
Nicholas "Butch" Wagner, said in his closing argument.
Lawyers for Alarm One, an Anaheim-based, 300-employee company, said the
spankings were part of a voluntary program to build camaraderie and were not
discriminatory because they were given to both male and female workers.
"This is being done for one reason and one reason only ¡ª money," said K.
Poncho Baker, the company's lawyer.
Alarm One officials ceased the practice in 2004, the
year Orlando sued, after another employee complained of being injured, according
to court records.
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