And You Think Unions Don't Matter
An appeals court overturned a $1.5 million verdict awarded to a woman who was spanked in front of co-workers in what her employer called a camaraderie-building exercise. A jury in 2006 had ruled that Janet Orlando had suffered sexual harassment and sexual battery when she was paddled at home security company Alarm One Inc. The jury punished the company with a $1 million punitive damage award.
But on Monday, a three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeal overturned that verdict, ruling that the jury had been given improper instructions. In particular, the jury wasn't instructed that one vital element of proving that sexual harassment occurred is showing the action was directed at a woman because of her gender. Lawyers for Alarm One, an Anaheim-based, 300-employee company, said that the spankings were not discriminatory because they were given to both male and female workers and that Orlando and others willingly took part. Orlando's attorney, Nicholas "Butch" Wagner, vowed to take the case to trial again. "We may get more this time," Wagner said.
But K. Poncho Baker, the attorney who defended the company at trial in 2006, said that because the company has since gone into bankruptcy and its insurance was exhausted battling Orlando's claim and settling with three other co-workers, there may be little left to recover. "Good luck retrying this one," Baker said.
Orlando quit the company in 2004, less than a year after she was hired at the Fresno office, saying she was humiliated during the company's team-building practices. Employees were paddled with rival companies' yard signs as part of a contest that pitted sales teams against one another. The winners poked fun at the losers, throwing pies at them, feeding them baby food, making them wear diapers and swatting their buttocks. The company has since abandoned the practice.
But on Monday, a three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeal overturned that verdict, ruling that the jury had been given improper instructions. In particular, the jury wasn't instructed that one vital element of proving that sexual harassment occurred is showing the action was directed at a woman because of her gender. Lawyers for Alarm One, an Anaheim-based, 300-employee company, said that the spankings were not discriminatory because they were given to both male and female workers and that Orlando and others willingly took part. Orlando's attorney, Nicholas "Butch" Wagner, vowed to take the case to trial again. "We may get more this time," Wagner said. But K. Poncho Baker, the attorney who defended the company at trial in 2006, said that because the company has since gone into bankruptcy and its insurance was exhausted battling Orlando's claim and settling with three other co-workers, there may be little left to recover. "Good luck retrying this one," Baker said.
Orlando quit the company in 2004, less than a year after she was hired at the Fresno office, saying she was humiliated during the company's team-building practices. Employees were paddled with rival companies' yard signs as part of a contest that pitted sales teams against one another. The winners poked fun at the losers, throwing pies at them, feeding them baby food, making them wear diapers and swatting their buttocks. The company has since abandoned the practice.
Posted by George at 10/22/2009 8:31 PM 
Categories: Union
Tags: Employee Free Choice Act EFCA Teamsters Union
Categories: Union
Tags: Employee Free Choice Act EFCA Teamsters Union
This is really a funny story, and I seem to remember it from quite awhile back. It made the news as I recall.
Yes, having a Union like the Teamsters on board will certainly prevent such things as this from happening. Can you imagine such a program within a sales organization? The article mentions they are going bankrupt, but I wonder if their sales manager is taking his antics somewhere else?
I can only imagine this happening in California. What nonsense. I wonder if they made the losers take their clothes off before the diapers went on?
Everyone at Brown should be very happy they are in a Union. Unfortunately the sales associates are not! Wonder if this will be giving their bosses some ideas?
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