ST. LOUIS — A pharmacy employee is seeking damages, alleging that her employer created a "sexually hostile" workplace, which included the owner kissing and spanking employees.
Wendy Blades filed the lawsuit in July against her former employer J&S Professional Pharmacy and the owner of the pharmacy, Joyce Fogleman, the alleged perpetrator.
Blades claims she was subjected to sexually inappropriate behavior by Fogleman, who she claimed would kiss employees when giving them their paychecks, spank them when she felt they were in need of discipline and would even walk around the pharmacy naked on occasion.
Blades took a leave of absence in March 2017, after alleging that the employer has ruined her life. When Blades returned to the workplace, she claims that she was terminated.
In early December, the judge ruled that the lawsuit be allowed to continue against the defendant.
Mark S. Schuver of Mathis, Marifian & Richter, in Belleville, is representing the plaintiff and said the case was still in the early stages of the discovery process.
"We anticipate that depositions will be taken of appropriate witnesses and personnel within the next few months," Schuver told the St. Louis Record. "We feel confident that the allegations will be supported by the testimony of other employees."
Despite the allegations of the plaintiff, the defendant, Fogleman, has denied any such wrongdoing on her part; in fact, the defendant was the winner of the 2017 Bowl of Hygeia award and in 2016 was given the Liberty Bell Award and placed in the West Frankfurt Wall of Honor.
The defendant's attorney, John Kauerauf, has demanded that the plaintiff be given no award and stood by his client, claiming that the allegations are not true.
Among the damages the plaintiff is seeking are compensation for past and future pain and suffering that she has been exposed to.