WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

CHARLESTON - Two women say their former employer caused a hostile work environment and caused them damages.

Penta Charleston B LLC, which is doing business as Charleston Plaza Hotel, and Andrew Lewis were named as defendants in the suit.

From 2011 to 2012, Lewis created a hostile work environment by making grabbing Cassandra Chapman and Marie Foster in front of hotel guests' making lewd and sexual comments  about guests and co-workers; and making racial comments about African-American co-workers, according to a complaint filed May 30 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Chapman and Foster claim they continually expressed to the district manager that Lewis' sexual comments were unwelcome and unwanted and that his abusive conduct was interfering with their ability to adequately perform their jobs.

District Manager Sam Patel would "laugh it off and say that it would be alright," the complaints state.

Chapman and Foster claim Charleston Plaza "woefully failed in its duty" to provide Chapman and Foster a non-hostile and productive work environment free from sexual harassment by failing to discipline, monitor or take appropriate action against Lewis when it first learned of his sexual harassment.

Charleston Plaza failed in its duty to exercise reasonable care in supervising the employment of Lewis and by failing to act in a reasonable manner to prevent subsequent tortious conduct from occurring; failed to make clear to its employees that the company took its sexual harassment policy seriously; and negligently, recklessly and intentionally retained Lewis as an employee and exposed Chapman and Foster to Lewis' offensive conduct, according to the suits.

Chapman and Foster claim Lewis repeatedly committed batteries upon them and his actions constitute extreme and outrageous conduct that intentionally or recklessly caused them to suffer severe emotional damage.

As a direct and proximate result of the defendants' conduct, Chapman and Foster suffered repeated, unwanted and unwelcome sexual touchings and comments; anxiety which affected job performance; humiliation; annoyance and inconvenience; degradation and mortification; invasion of privacy; person dignity affronted; damage to reputation; and emotional pain and suffering, according to the suits.

Chapman and Foster are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are being represented by Lia DiTrapano Fairless of DiTrapano Law Firm PC.

The cases have been assigned to Circuit Judge James C. Stucky.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 13-C-1044, 13-C-1045