NY – from www.nydailynews – A new sex discrimination lawsuit – by a former chief operating officer – accuses the president of Marc Jacobs International of lording over raunchy workplace hijinks, including mandatory employee pole dances.
Robert Duffy [pictured] is being sued for allegedly creating a hostile work environment where gay porn and pictures of employees in the nude reportedly were on display.
Patrice Lataillade’s Manhattan Supreme Court suit, which also targets parent company Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, portrays the fashion firm as an X-rated playground.
It claims Duffy made employees take peeks at his porn and spin on a stripper pole.
“Duffy has behaved as if he has no obligation to follow [Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey’s] rules of conduct or the law,” the suit says. “He uses company funds for personal expenses and does not censor what he does.”
When Lataillade complained last year, the suit says, he got axed in retaliation from the firm where he had worked since May 1996.
Other employees had complained, the suit says, including a female who was told she needed a “thicker skin” and a male who was instructed to “go home early and have a drink.”
A lawyer for Lataillade did not return calls, but a Jacobs spokeswoman said the former executive’s claims are “false.”
“Patrice Lataillade was terminated as CFO and COO of [Marc Jacobs International] for serious matters unrelated to the allegations made in the complaint,” Molly Morse said.
