Maine Agricultural Inspector Alleges Sexual Harassment by Female Supervisor
Caribou, ME– While the news is not generally dominated by stories of men who are sexually harassed by female supervisors. Men may not be sexually harassed to degree which women are but it can be a problem in the American workplace and can make for a very hostile and stressful working environment. This is a fact that a male agricultural inspector in Maine learned recently and is now suing his former employer.
Daniel Bouchard filed a lawsuit against Ag World Support Systems this week alleging that one of his female supervisors subjected him to sexual harassment, and he was treated hostilely when he reported the harassment, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Ag World Systems is a Washington-based company that became involved in the Maine potato industry. Bouchard was hired to be an agricultural inspector in 2010. In his lawsuit, Bouchard alleges that a female coworker sexually harassed him on several occasions, before and after she became a shift supervisor.
Bouchard claims that on one occasion, the woman ran her hands along his chest, put her hands up his shirt and rubbed her breasts on his back, according to the Bangor Daily News. The woman also allegedly whispered lewd and unwanted comments in his ear and solicited him for while she also gave him intimate details about her sex life.
His attorney, James A. Clifford said in the suit, the behavior made his client feel “humiliated and degraded,” and he “became anxious and depressed and was frequently sick to his stomach before, after and while at work.”
Bouchard was concerned the woman in question would become hostile so he had his girlfriend call the facility and complain about the harassment. Ag World Systems began an investigation and several of his coworkers corroborated his claims.
Although the investigation was supposed to be confidential, Bouchard alleges his harasser found out about it and began to subject him to hostile behavior.
After the investigation, began Bouchard’s harasser to retaliate against him by complaining that he was violating company policies. She also began to question his work and subjected him to unnecessary quality assurance tests which he described as “very stressful” although he passed the tests.
His suit also claims that the facility supervisor began to question his work and gave him trouble about taking paid time off and his sick days. Bouchard said he had a good attendance which was never questioned until the company began to investigate the sexual harassment.
The lawsuit states Bouchard quit his job in 2012 because became weary of the “retaliation and unfair treatment” and was “plagued by uncertainty and stress.”
He is seeking punitive damages, back pay and attorney’s fees and other compensation deemed appropriate by the jury.
Too often, people think that sexual harassment is only something women have to endure, but sexual harassment attorneys know otherwise. With the help of a harassment attorney, victims whether male or female can put an end to the embarrassing and humiliating behavior and get compensation for their emotional distress and lost wages.
