Woman Says Taunts Drove Her to Brink

Salt Lake City, UT (WorkersCompensation.com) - Harassment at a Salt Lake City packing company was so severe it drove a Mormon employee to the brink of suicide, she claims in court.
     Rebecca Done sued Berlin Packaging on Wednesday in Federal Court, in a lawsuit replete with descriptions of sexual and religious badgering. She claims, among other things, that co-workers and supervisors called her "Molly Mormon," asked her to bake a "boob cake," mocked her church garments and showed her porn.
     In short, Done says, the company "created, maintained and failed to correct a known hostile work environment for female Latter-day Saint employees."
     The 19-page complaint lists the alleged harassment by bullet point from letters a to z:
     ? A female employee "exposed her bare buttocks and vagina in close proximity to plaintiff's face."
     ? The woman and a male employee called a letter opener "the scrotum poker," and touched male employees' groins with it.
     ? The woman and a male supervisor "simulated sexual acts, including anal sexual intercourse and masturbation."
     ? The woman showed her porn and said she "could try the sexual techniques depicted in the videos once she was married."
     ? She was constantly asked to bake "an erotic boob cake."
     ? She was told to "get a job at the Temple" if she wanted to work without sexual banter or comments, "but that won't make the car payment."
     ? A manager told her his "balls are so large that they literally touch the water" when he pees
     Done, an account coordinator, says workers also mocked her temple garments, an inner layer of clothing held sacred by Mormons.
     "You're stupid as it is, but you're even dumber for believing that underwear can save you," she says a co-worker told her.
     Done claims that when she asked a female co-worker about the harassment, the woman said, "It's the adult world."
     "No religion can save you from it," the worker added.
     R.D. says she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and resigned due to the "unbearable and intolerable" harassment that was so severe it gave her suicidal ideations.
     The accused harassers, many referred to by name in the complaint, are not listed as official parties.
     Berlin officials declined to comment on Thursday.
     The packaging supplier, headquartered in Chicago, claims on its website to have a 94 percent employee retention rate. The website states that the company was featured in "The Human Equation," by Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, "about how the right human-resource culture creates winning companies."
     Done seeks punitive damages for sexual harassment, religious discrimination and constructive discharge.
     She is represented by Jennifer Zeleny.

Source: Courthouse News Service

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