Three women have filed a federal lawsuit against the medical center where they once worked, saying the doctor who owns it made unwanted sexual advances toward them. The suit was filed Monday against the Pain Relief Centers, P.A., which has operated clinics in Conover, Statesville and Salisbury, North Carolina. It was filed by former employees Deana Lingle, Leslie Treadway and Robin Perun.
The women allege that Dr. Hans Christian Hansen, the company’s owner and principal, created a “sexually hostile work environment” and that they were subject to “adverse employment action” after turning down his advances.
A woman who answered the phone Tuesday afternoon at the Pain Relief Centers’ office in Conover said no one was immediately available to comment on the suit. Lingle, Treadway and Perun say Hansen subjected them to “sexual comments, proposals, overtures, and unwanted and unwelcome physical touching” on multiple occasions, according to the suit, which was filed in federal court in Statesville.
For example, each alleges Hansen rubbed against their breasts and asked questions about their sex life. Two of the women said he attempted to or did kiss them or pull at their clothing. In another claim, one of the women said Hansen once told her he had dreamed she had danced naked for him. He also reportedly asked her “if you —- everyone else, why not let me?”
In the suit, Lingle and Treadway said they both reported Hansen’s conduct to office managers. A former director said she had received other complaints and “that there was nothing she could do – that (Hansen) would not listen to her,” according to the lawsuit. The suit also says all three women filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging sexual harassment, retaliation and a hostile work environment. Lingle and Treadway also filed discrimination charges related to their departure from the company. The suit said the EEOC determined that the women had been subjected to harassment and that there was “reasonable cause” to believe their civil rights were violated. But the suit said efforts at “conciliation” failed, and the EEOC issued notices giving the women the right to sue their employer.
Each of the women says she suffered damages in excess of $100,000 and seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Lingle and Treadway also are requesting to be reinstated to their job at the Pain Relief Centers “following the imposition of reasonable corrective measures to protect them.”
By April Bethea
abethea@charlotteobserver.com
Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/11/15/2778097/suit-boss-made-unwanted-sexual.html#ixzz1faHZyPxv
