Two More Sue Hagadone Firm Six Women Allege Sexual Harassment, Gender Discrimination By Male Employees

Two more women have joined a lawsuit that accuses Hagadone Hospitality of breaking federal laws and exposing female employees to sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

One of the women, referred to as Jane Doe 1, charged that her manager at the Coeur d’Alene Inn repeatedly tried to engage her in a sexual relationship, then withheld her pay, cut her salary and changed her work schedule when she refused, according to a new complaint filed last week.

The other woman, also not named, said she was fired from her job right before a “pre-scheduled surgical procedure in which she was diagnosed with cancer.” She was more than 55 years old.

Stephen Wilson, manager of the Hagadone-owned Coeur d’Alene Inn, where at least some of the women worked, referred all calls to attorney Eugene Miller.

Miller refused to discuss details of the lawsuit.

“I’m not going to talk about the merits of any complaint before we’ve even had a chance to respond,” he said.

Six women now are plaintiffs in the suit, which charges that the Hagadone empire has a pattern of hiring attractive young women and then subjecting them to demeaning treatment. It also suggests the company mistreats older women.

One of the plaintiffs, former Coeur d’Alene Inn employee Carrie Ferrell, said last month that she filed suit because the problem otherwise would have been swept under the rug.

“One manager only hires women under 32 and below a size 8, then proceeds to approach them in a sexual manner,” the suit contends. “He makes it very clear that their job will be impacted negatively for failing to submit.”

Four of the women complained to management about unwanted advances, touches or sexual gestures, but the offending male employees were not punished, the suit contends.

One woman was attacked by a male employee who pinned her against a wall and stuck his tongue down her throat, the suit alleges. The man later assaulted another worker in a similar manner, the suit alleges.

, DataTimes