Teh One Who Knocks
09-14-2017, 11:21 AM
By Scott Daugherty - The Virginian-Pilot
https://i.imgur.com/xiiCborl.png
NORFOLK -- Unwanted sexual advances from a boss, demeaning comments about gender and heritage and forced participation in a “pagan ritual” to exorcise demons from the workplace.
Those are just a few of the allegations a Norfolk woman – and accused “demon” – is claiming in a $2.3 million sexual and racial harassment lawsuit against her former employer, Ricoh USA.
Patricia Lindsey said she endured the discriminatory treatment for more than seven years before she was fired in November.
Jeremiah “Jake” Denton IV, Lindsey’s attorney, declined to comment.
John Greco, a Ricoh USA spokesman, said the Pennsylvania-based imaging and electronics company denies the allegations and plans to fight them in court.
“Ricoh has very strong anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and offers employees multiple ways to report any inappropriate behavior,” he said in an email. “The company does not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind.”
Lindsey filed her lawsuit late last month in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.
According to the 26-page complaint, she started working for Ricoh in June 2008, and the problems began about one year later when she got a new supervisor, Robert Staton.
In explicit detail, the lawsuit alleges that Staton repeatedly solicited sexual favors from Lindsey and then retaliated against her when she said no and reported him to Human Resources. It was one of more than 10 such reports she made, the suit said.
It also said that in June 2009, Lindsey politely asked Staton to stop using abusive language while speaking with her, and he told her to stop talking back to him: “A woman should never speak to a man like that.”
“Mr. Staton further stated that he did not have time for Ms. Lindsey’s objections to his conduct and Ms. Lindsey needed to listen to him and do as he says because he is a man and she was only a woman,” the lawsuit said.
In September 2015, Lindsey started reporting to a different supervisor, who in turn reported to Staton.
The lawsuit said Pamela Vanover continued to harass Lindsey, however, focusing on her Native American heritage rather than her gender.
It claimed Vanover told her the reason the “Indians lost to the Cowboys is because you were stupid.”
The lawsuit also outlined an unusual encounter that allegedly happened in August 2016 in Ricoh’s offices. The suit said Vanover instructed Lindsey to participate in a pagan ritual involving burning sage.
Lindsey told Vanover she did not want to participate because she did not believe in pagan ceremonies, but she still found herself involved later that morning during a production meeting.
“Ms. Vanover entered with a rolled-up bundle of sage wrapped in Wiccan twine and stated, ‘I will be performing a Ritual today. I am exercising (sic) demons out of this place....Patty and I are exercising demons,’ ” the lawsuit said, explaining that Vanover then approached Lindsey and pointed the sage at her face when she protested.
“I am exercising demons,” Vanover repeated, according to the lawsuit.
During a phone conversation the next month, Vanover told Lindsey she and Staton had been trying to get her fired, according to the suit. Vanover said she was aware of the HR complaints, and Lindsey’s days were numbered.
“Vanover stated she had intended to send an intimidating message to Ms. Lindsey when she conducted her Wiccan ritual – which was why Ms. Vanover had stated that Ms. Lindsey was a demon she was exorcizing (sic),” the lawsuit said.
It said Lindsey was officially terminated for failing to report an incident the prior month involving an employee who made a threat, but that was just a pretext. The suit said the firing was retaliation for the complaints Lindsey filed with HR over the years.
https://i.imgur.com/xiiCborl.png
NORFOLK -- Unwanted sexual advances from a boss, demeaning comments about gender and heritage and forced participation in a “pagan ritual” to exorcise demons from the workplace.
Those are just a few of the allegations a Norfolk woman – and accused “demon” – is claiming in a $2.3 million sexual and racial harassment lawsuit against her former employer, Ricoh USA.
Patricia Lindsey said she endured the discriminatory treatment for more than seven years before she was fired in November.
Jeremiah “Jake” Denton IV, Lindsey’s attorney, declined to comment.
John Greco, a Ricoh USA spokesman, said the Pennsylvania-based imaging and electronics company denies the allegations and plans to fight them in court.
“Ricoh has very strong anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and offers employees multiple ways to report any inappropriate behavior,” he said in an email. “The company does not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind.”
Lindsey filed her lawsuit late last month in U.S. District Court in Norfolk.
According to the 26-page complaint, she started working for Ricoh in June 2008, and the problems began about one year later when she got a new supervisor, Robert Staton.
In explicit detail, the lawsuit alleges that Staton repeatedly solicited sexual favors from Lindsey and then retaliated against her when she said no and reported him to Human Resources. It was one of more than 10 such reports she made, the suit said.
It also said that in June 2009, Lindsey politely asked Staton to stop using abusive language while speaking with her, and he told her to stop talking back to him: “A woman should never speak to a man like that.”
“Mr. Staton further stated that he did not have time for Ms. Lindsey’s objections to his conduct and Ms. Lindsey needed to listen to him and do as he says because he is a man and she was only a woman,” the lawsuit said.
In September 2015, Lindsey started reporting to a different supervisor, who in turn reported to Staton.
The lawsuit said Pamela Vanover continued to harass Lindsey, however, focusing on her Native American heritage rather than her gender.
It claimed Vanover told her the reason the “Indians lost to the Cowboys is because you were stupid.”
The lawsuit also outlined an unusual encounter that allegedly happened in August 2016 in Ricoh’s offices. The suit said Vanover instructed Lindsey to participate in a pagan ritual involving burning sage.
Lindsey told Vanover she did not want to participate because she did not believe in pagan ceremonies, but she still found herself involved later that morning during a production meeting.
“Ms. Vanover entered with a rolled-up bundle of sage wrapped in Wiccan twine and stated, ‘I will be performing a Ritual today. I am exercising (sic) demons out of this place....Patty and I are exercising demons,’ ” the lawsuit said, explaining that Vanover then approached Lindsey and pointed the sage at her face when she protested.
“I am exercising demons,” Vanover repeated, according to the lawsuit.
During a phone conversation the next month, Vanover told Lindsey she and Staton had been trying to get her fired, according to the suit. Vanover said she was aware of the HR complaints, and Lindsey’s days were numbered.
“Vanover stated she had intended to send an intimidating message to Ms. Lindsey when she conducted her Wiccan ritual – which was why Ms. Vanover had stated that Ms. Lindsey was a demon she was exorcizing (sic),” the lawsuit said.
It said Lindsey was officially terminated for failing to report an incident the prior month involving an employee who made a threat, but that was just a pretext. The suit said the firing was retaliation for the complaints Lindsey filed with HR over the years.