Two women are suing an Indianola toy company over claims of physical and verbal harassment on the job. A supervisor and employee at Manley Toy Direct in Indianola are accused of sexually harassing two women. They filed a lawsuit against the company this week and three more women are coming forward to do the same.
Every day for the ten months she worked at Manley Toy Direct, Danielle Rennenger says she heard things like "hey big boobs". The 36-year-old says her former supervisor would make sexually explicit gestures. "I kept thinking it's gonna get better. It's going to end at one point, it's got to end," she says.
Rennenger claims the harassment by her boss and another male coworker became physical. "He grabbed me by the back of my head and shoved it into his crotch and at that point, that was it. I had had it. I'm not taking any more," she says.
Thirty-year-old Ammee Roush worked as a customer service rep at the company for two years. She says the insults were daily and it was more than just name calling. Roush says one of the men would have her sit on his lap while the other would come up from behind and grab her underwear to see what color it was. "It made me feel horrible, like less of a person. Unworthy," she says.
In separate lawsuits, the women claim they complained about the behavior, but it didn't stop. "Most companies have some sort of handbook, they have a policy, they have a department that an employee can go to if they have a concern," explains the women's attorney Jill Zwagerman. She says Manley Toy didn't have any of that. "The main person who was in charge of all of that was the person who was harassing. He had all of the power," says Zwagerman.
A current employee at Manley Toy Direct says neither man named in the lawsuit still work at the company. The company's attorney could not be reached for comment.
Every day for the ten months she worked at Manley Toy Direct, Danielle Rennenger says she heard things like "hey big boobs". The 36-year-old says her former supervisor would make sexually explicit gestures. "I kept thinking it's gonna get better. It's going to end at one point, it's got to end," she says.
Rennenger claims the harassment by her boss and another male coworker became physical. "He grabbed me by the back of my head and shoved it into his crotch and at that point, that was it. I had had it. I'm not taking any more," she says.
Thirty-year-old Ammee Roush worked as a customer service rep at the company for two years. She says the insults were daily and it was more than just name calling. Roush says one of the men would have her sit on his lap while the other would come up from behind and grab her underwear to see what color it was. "It made me feel horrible, like less of a person. Unworthy," she says.
In separate lawsuits, the women claim they complained about the behavior, but it didn't stop. "Most companies have some sort of handbook, they have a policy, they have a department that an employee can go to if they have a concern," explains the women's attorney Jill Zwagerman. She says Manley Toy didn't have any of that. "The main person who was in charge of all of that was the person who was harassing. He had all of the power," says Zwagerman.
A current employee at Manley Toy Direct says neither man named in the lawsuit still work at the company. The company's attorney could not be reached for comment.
