Next time, let's all spank the boss

A California woman sues her company after being paddled during a motivational event.

Published April 27, 2006 11:43PM (EDT)

A 53-year-old woman who was spanked during a team-building exercise at her former job is suing for $1.2 million, the Associated Press reports.

At Alarm One, a home security company in Fresno, Calif., "employees were paddled with rival companies' yard signs as part of a contest that pitted sales teams against each other, according to court documents. The winners poked fun at the losers, throwing pies at them, feeding them baby food, making them wear diapers and swatting their buttocks."

You know the drill: The plaintiff accuses the company of discrimination, assault, battery and inflicting emotional distress, while the company says she's just after its money. Alarm One maintains that the antics weren't discriminatory, because both men and women were spanked and the team building was voluntary.

I bet the rival alarm companies are really happy to learn where their yard signs have been.


By Katharine Mieszkowski

Katharine Mieszkowski is a senior writer for Salon.

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