A sexual harrassment case.
Your thoughts on the implications, rather than the case itself, woudl be interesting.
It is just this kind of hysterical overreach that is behind the $37 million sexual harassment lawsuit launched against David Jones by its former publicist, Kristy Fraser-Kirk, 27. By claiming that absurd amount, she has lost credibility. The sympathy and respect she earned from her initial dignified and private handling of the case flew out the window.
Her press conference on Monday, surrounded by her parents, boyfriend and lurking publicists, would have been heart-rending - if someone had died.
That is not to say that Mark McInnes, 45, wasn't a sleaze who got away with much more than he should have in the way of predatory, overbearing behaviour towards female underlings. And that's not to say the David Jones' board should not have known of the CEO's proclivities, even if it didn't know of specific sexual harassment, as it has said. If even half of what is in Fraser-Kirk's statement of claim is true, McInnes deserves everything he got.
But that is the point. He lost his job, got a comparatively paltry pay-off, became a national joke and had to leave the country in disgrace. DJs has taken a hit to its reputation, and its share price. It is now the butt of jokes. Why the need for a $37 million lawsuit, even if Fraser-Kirk plans to give any punitive damages to charity? Enormous lawsuits are the bane of our lives, feathering the slick corporate nests of the burgeoning law firms in this city, increasing costs of insurance, ruining community activities.
The worst Fraser-Kirk alleges of McInnes would have distressed most women but it should not ruin her life - unless she dwells on it.
According to her statement of claim, at a lunch in May, McInnes, "placed his hand under her clothing to the point where it touched her bra strap". He repeatedly asked her to come to his Bondi home "with the clear implication that such a visit would be for the purpose of sexual intercourse". He "grabbed her in a hug which lifted her off the ground".
At a cosmetics function in Rose Bay, he "attempted to kiss [her] on the mouth while putting his arm around [her] waist". He then placed "his hand on Fraser-Kirk's stomach before moving it under her clothes so that his hand reached the bottom of [her] bra while [she] was pulling away from his unwelcome touch and turning her head to the left so that he could not kiss her on the mouth".
Unpleasant, affronting, and unforgivable though McInnes's alleged behaviour was, this is the worst of her complaints. Is it worth $37 million?
Women who are raped don't get that kind of money as victims' compensation - they're lucky if they receive $100,000. A woman who was raped by a navy colleague at HMAS Cairns was awarded less than $500,000 in 2007 in a sexual harassment lawsuit.
A David Jones employee who sustained a serious brain injury at work would get less than $300,000 in compensation under Work Cover. So why does McInnes's conduct qualify for such a grand cash grab?
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-a ... 11fid.html
