A Casco woman has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former employer, claiming that Festiva Development Group LLC subjected her to a work environment “that was very unprofessional due to the sexual comments from upper management,” according to court documents filed in Cumberland County Superior Court.
The plaintiff, Tatsiana Crawford, began working at Festiva’s Portland office on June 6, 2012, according to a civil complaint filed by her attorney, Guy D. Loranger of Old Orchard Beach. Festiva sells vacation club packages to resorts around the country.
In the complaint, Crawford raises several allegations about how she was treated by the men in her office. She claims a manager told her that when he hired her he thought she was naughty. “He said to the plaintiff, you are naughty, aren’t you?” the civil action goes on to say.
Crawford said that same manager told her he was helping her put money in her pockets but “he got nothing in return.” She also accused him of sending her text messages with nude photos of men and women covering their private parts with leaves. She said another male co-worker would refer to another woman employee as “double D.”
On Dec. 21, 2013, after a manager told her to resign, Crawford did so because “she could no longer work in the hostile work environment,” her complaint says. Loranger, her attorney, contends that the behavior by her male co-workers “exhibited a conscious disregard for the Maine Human Rights Act.”
Crawford is seeking compensation for damages including economic damages, lost wages, and punitive damages, the court documents say. The papers did not specify an amount.
The attorneys representing Festiva Hospitality Group – the parent company based in Asheville, North Carolina – denied all of Crawford’s allegations and have filed a motion to have the case heard in U.S. District Court. Festiva’s notice of removal was filed Feb. 4 by Katherine Rand, an attorney for Pierce Atwood in Portland, and H. Catherine Claussen, an attorney with Zealandia Holding Company of Asheville.
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