Woman Who Reached Settlement over Spanking at Work Files Suit Again

A California woman who reached a $1.4 million settlement with her former employer after being spanked in front of co-workers is suing the company’s insurance carriers because, she says, she has not been paid.

Janet Orlando, 55, reached the settlement after Anaheim-based Alarm One Inc. appealed a jury verdict that awarded her $1.7 million for being humiliated by what was billed as a camaraderie-building exercise.

Orlando sued Carolina Casualty Insurance Co. and Monitor Liability Managers for $4.2 million last month.

Employees at Alarm One had to compete in team-building exercises that included throwing pies at one another and hitting each other with competitors’ yard signs. Sometimes co-workers made comments such as, “bend over, baby,” and “you’ve been a bad girl.”

Corporate officials halted the practices in 2004. Company supervisors said that Orlando, who quit in 2003, never complained and that she quit because she was passed over for a promotion.

Alarm One and the insurers did not return calls Thursday.

Topics Lawsuits