A Portland marketing firm has settled a lawsuit with a former employee who claimed she was drugged at a company party and then fired for asking for accommodations while she recovered.
Diana Salas filed her lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Portland last year. In her complaint, she said she worked for Trueline Publishing and attended the company holiday party at the Portland House of Music in December 2016. She claimed the firm’s president, Hajmil Carr, encouraged her to do shots at the party and she feared she was drugged at the event.
The suit doesn’t allege that Carr drugged her and doesn’t specify what Salas believes she was drugged with. It also says that Salas filed a complaint with Portland police a few days after the party and the police opened an investigation, but doesn’t say whether the investigation was completed and what the police determined.
Salas said she was diagnosed with acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident, and she asked for permission to be able to work alone while she was treated for those disorders. Instead, she alleges she was fired in early January, and a human resources manager told her it was not because of her design work.
The firm admitted Salas told her bosses that she believed she had been drugged, but its answer to her complaint states the Portland Police Department concluded that there was no evidence that anyone had tampered with Salas’ drinks or that a crime had been committed. The firm denied firing her for any retaliatory or discriminatory reason.
The company’s attorney, Stacey Neumann, informed the court Tuesday that the parties reached a settlement. The details of that agreement are not part of the public court record.
“Trueline continues to deny the allegations and is pleased the litigation is resolved,” Neumann wrote in an email Wednesday. “We cannot discuss the confidential terms of the resolution.”
Jeffrey Bennett, who represents Salas, also declined to comment on the terms.
“The lawsuit is settled confidentially to the satisfaction of both parties,” he said.
TrueLine provides marketing help and consulting for businesses and publishes magazines on the equity and legal professions.
Salas filed a complaint over the firing with the Maine Human Rights Commission. In April, she received a right-to-sue letter from the commission, which can be issued if the commission fails to act on a complaint within 180 days of filing.
Her suit was initially filed in Superior Court in Cumberland County. It was moved to federal court in early August, reflecting a claim that the company violated the Americans with Disability Act.
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