Deborah Smith, 43, was the night manager of the SkyWater Restaurant and Lounge, located in the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel. The operative word is ‘was’ because she is no longer employed by the Hilton chain.
Smith reported to her Human Resources department that she had walked in on and witnessed several members of Hilton’s upper management engaging in sex acts in a banquet room.
According to a lawsuit that Smith has filed against the hotel chain, she encountered several inebriated executives engaging in sex acts on top of a table. When she expressed her displeasure at witnessing the sexual encounter, Hilton Beverage Manager, James Vennewitz, told Smith that she would be fired and he would make sure of it.
The suit goes on to say that Smith was a victim of “undirected sexual harassment” and a “campaign of harassment and retaliation ensured.” The complaint contends that Hilton Human Resources Director Traci Schultz, upon hearing about the incident, did not take remedial action but in fact set Smith up for retaliatory termination.
Prior to her firing, Smith alleges that Hilton management’s conduct was hostile, oppressive, pervasive, abusive and intimidating. She claims to have suffered severe emotional, physical and economic damages.
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