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Grand Hotel cries foul over harassment suit
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Posted on Sep 30 2004
The Saipan Grand Hotel yesterday said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s federal discrimination lawsuit based on alleged sexual harassment experienced by a worker at the hotel appeared pointless, claiming that woman’s problem has been addressed some two years ago.
The hotel’s lawyer, Michael Dotts, also asked the U.S. District Court to provide specific details on the EEOC’s complaint, saying that its ambiguities should elicit no response.
The EEOC recently disclosed in a media release that it filed the suit against the company operating the hotel, Micro Pacific Development, Inc., based on investigation results of the agency’s Honolulu office.
The EEOC press statement alleged that an assistant chef one of the hotel’s restaurants sexually harassed Julieta Torres and another female kitchen helpers. It said Torres and other women faced harassment that included poking at them with kitchen utensils, groping of their private parts, requests for sexual favors, and sexual assault.
The media statement quoted EEOC attorney Linda Ordonio-Dixon as saying that Torres’ case was “one of the most severe and horrible cases of sexual harassment” in her seven years with the agency.
Dotts said, however, that Torres and her alleged harasser were separated some two years ago. He said the hotel did not renew the contract of Torres’ alleged abuser upon receiving her complaint.
“The problem was solved immediately two years ago, and so we do not see the point of a lawsuit by the government,” Dotts said in a press statement. “Ms. Torres is still working for the hotel. The EEOC’s complaint seems frivolous.”
Dotts also contended that there were ambiguities in the wordings of the complaint. “Therefore, Micro Pacific cannot be expected to respond to this complaint.”
