How To Build Company Morale

I am shocked, positively shocked that this backfired. Do I sound like Captain Renault speaking about Gambling at Ricks. ;)

FRESNO, California (AP) -- Lawyers for a woman spanked in front of co-workers as part of what her employer said was a team-building exercise asked a jury Wednesday for at least $1.2 million for the humiliation she says she suffered.

Janet Orlando, 53, quit her job at the home security company Alarm One Inc. and sued, alleging discrimination, assault, battery and infliction of emotional distress.

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.

"No reasonable middle-aged woman would want to be put up there before a group of young men, turned around to show her buttocks, get spanked and called abusive names, and told it was to increase sales and motivate employees," her lawyer, Nicholas "Butch" Wagner, said in his closing argument.

Lawyers for Alarm One, which is based in Anaheim, California, and has 300 employees, said the spankings were part of a voluntary program to build camaraderie and were not discriminatory because they were given to both male and female workers."

I have to add that I love the name of the company attorney and his argument for why this was done.

"This is being done for one reason and one reason only -- money," said K. Poncho Baker, the company's lawyer."

Maybe I am just tired, but I can't help but think of the world famous Officer Francis Llewellyn 'Ponch' Poncherello.