A middle-aged male and former labor analyst at Disney Cruise Line has filed an age and sex discrimination lawsuit claiming that his younger female boss created a hostile work environment leading up to his firing by teasing him about his age, bragging about sleeping with other men in the office and passing him over for promotions.
According to the Associated Press, Anthony McHugh accused the unidentified female supervisor of calling him a "stuffy old fart" in front of coworkers, moving his office to a windowless space and even refusing to provide him with an iPhone or tablet as she had staff members under the age of 40.
The federal lawsuit alleges that beginning about two years ago, the female senior manager started bragging about the married men she had slept with to embarrass McHugh and also said she booked "sex rooms" on Disney Cruise Line ships where she would "entertain" partners.
"Further, the senior manager sought to embarrass the plaintiff by sharing with the plaintiff the various sex acts that she participated in with her many partners," the lawsuit added. The woman is also alleged to have stolen drugs from McHugh that he took for attention deficit disorder and anxiety.
McHugh claims he was fired after 18 years with the company last year after complaining about his manager's behavior. However, the given reason for dismissal was the use of illegal substances.
The lawsuit doesn't state the ages of McHugh or his former manager, only stating that he was older than 40 and she was younger than 40 at the time.
The lawsuit claims that McHugh was replaced by a younger woman while every other leader on his work team over the age of 40 was "either systematically terminated or resigned."
Disney Cruise Line issued a statement claiming that the lawsuit is without merit and that it plans to respond in court.
Boston-based employment lawyer Rebecca Pontikes told the AP that it's "rare to have this exact scenario" as a majority of these type of cases are brought by women. Employment discrimination cases are typically either settled or dismissed on a procedural motion and rarely make it to a jury, University of Florida law professor Stephanie Bornstein told the AP.
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