Rosauers, bakery manager sued for harassment

A former Spokane bakery clerk is suing Rosauers Supermarkets and her former work manager, claiming she endured sexual harassment and offensive behavior on the job, including frequent requests to host sex-toy parties.

The lawsuit, filed in April in U.S. District Court, claims a bakery manager at the U-City Rosauers store repeatedly harassed Nicolle Southwick, 23, with lewd remarks and other offensive behavior.

The manager, Annette Christensen, is alleged to host sex-toy parties at which she asks guests to buy X-rated items.

Michael J. Hines, an attorney with Spokane-based Lukins & Annis, said Southwick’s claim is without merit.

Rosauers conducted an investigation of the allegations, Hines said, and found no sign of “any discrimination or any hostile work environment.”

In an earlier phone call, Rosauers CEO Jeff Philipps said the company typically doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits.

The suit says Southwick, a bakery department worker, initially refused a request by Christiansen to host a sex-toy party, but later relented to stop the behavior. Such parties are small gatherings where attendees view samples of products and order items from a catalog.

Southwick agreed to host a sex-toy party reluctantly “out of fear Christensen would retaliate against her, and due to the fact that her manager … took it upon herself to rearrange the plaintiff’s work schedule to give her a night off,” the suit alleges.

Southwick started working at the U-City Rosauers store in November 2003.

She quit in December 2004, alleging in the lawsuit that her manager and other Rosauers officials were aware of the situation with Christensen and did nothing to eliminate the problem.

Southwick’s attorney, Brad Axtell of Spokane-based Axtell & Briggs, said Southwick “was not offered any other jobs” at the supermarket company after she told managers of the problems.

Southwick has since moved to Hawaii, Axtell said. She couldn’t be reached for comment.

Christensen continues working as a bakery department manager at the U-City Rosauers store.

The 24-page complaint alleges Christensen more than once showed Southwick objects that she intended to sell at sex-toy parties, and used a laser pointer at work to show sexually explicit images on the bakery wall.

After telling a manager her concerns, Southwick contends the manager told Christensen of the complaint. That was followed by a worsening of work conditions in the bakery, the suit claims, “due to the fact that the defendant (Christensen) retaliated against (Southwick) for expressing her concerns.”

Axtell said the amount of damages sought by his client will be established at trial.