Gay employee discriminated in adult bookstore
A gay employee is suing the company that owns Fantasyland II for $330,704. He is seeking $55,6704 in lost wages, $75,000 in non-economic damages, and $200,000 in punitive damages. Wilford Paul Bearden, the gay employee, said he was discriminated against because of his sexual preferences and had to work in a hostile environment at Fantasyland II.
Disgusting & Bazaar
Bearden’s co-worker made an offensive multipanel drawing labelled “Terror at the Porn Store” where he is depicted naked and defecating. Another drawing showed him unconscious or dead with the caption, “his anus betrays him.” The same co-worker also had written a note that said “Paul’s team” above a photo, printed in a newspaper, of a man accused of murder and abusing a corpse.
These drawings were the last straw, according to Bearden, who said that he had endured a lifetime of discrimination for being gay. According to his sexual harassment attorney, Benjamin Rosenthal, when Bearden complained to the bookstore manager in April 2010, he was fired five days later.
In a civil trial in Clackamas, Bearden testified that he had reached a point where he had had enough and that those who discriminated against him were not going to get away with it. Bearden had worked at another adult bookstore for eight years before taking a job at Fantasyland II in April 2010. He was fired three months later. Many people are wondering why is suing them for so much when he had only worked there for a few months?
Rosenthal claims that Bearden had never been fired from his job before and was a military veteran who had worked for 25 years for Fred Meyer. According to Fantasyland’s attorney, Richard Franklin, the manager fired Bearden because he was an overbearing, offensive employee who was not liked by the employees. But he worked for Fred Meyer for 25 years?
AutoZone faces lawsuit
In another sexual harassment case, an employee is suing AuotZone, a retail company for an unlimited amount of damages. The employee, Luis Sandoval, worked at the store at Chula Vista and the harassment began soon, where his supervisor repeatedly slapped him on the buttocks. Despite Sandoval’s repeated requests to stop these unwelcome touches, they continued to do so while the last straw was when the company fired him when he complained.
Sandoval was not treated in a fair manner, according to his sexual harassment attorneys. They claim the company did not make an attempt to procure the surveillance videos to check if the harassment did happen.
Actress sues CEO of Polaris Entertainment
The CEO of Polaris Entertainment, Mr. Lee is now facing a sexual harassment lawsuit from renowned Korean actress, Clara. In a statement, the actress alleged that Mr. Lee frequently sent text messages saying that he was married but had a girlfriend and that Clara made his heart flutter because she was different from other entertainers. Mr. Lee also said that if Clara ever gets married, he would be unhappy.
Mr. Lee fired her manager, Mr. Kim, without cause, according to the statement issued by Clara, where she also mentions that she felt humiliated and harassed from the words and actions of the 60-year-old CEO. She is seeking to nullify the contract on the grounds of sexual harassment. With looks like Clara, employment is not hard to obtain.
If you think you have been harassed in your work place, speak to an experience lawyer such as Raymond Dinsmore to find out what legal steps you should take to protect yourself.
