By: Dorothy Giobbe
A 19-YEAR EMPLOYEE of the Jacksonville, Florida Times-Union has charged the newspaper and his former supervisor with sexual harassment and age discrimination.
In a twist on conventional sexual harassment cases, William Champion, former retail advertising manager for the Times-Union, claims that he was fired after he complained about the conduct of his supervisor, Ray Dallman.
Charging that Dallman created a hostile work environment, Champion said that Dallman made unwanted sexual advances to a number of female Times-Union employees, including Champion's girlfriend.
After Champion confronted Dallman, according to the complaint, he was terminated and replaced with a younger employee at a lower salary.
The complaint, filed in Duval County Circuit Court, seeks damages, back pay, and court costs.
The complaint charges that because of Dallman's conduct, which included making sexual advances to Times-Union employees, sexually inappropriate remarks in the presence of employees, and giving preferential treatment to a woman with whom Dallman allegedly was having an affair, all employees were subjected to a hostile work environment.
In court papers, Times-Union counsel denied the sexual harassment and age discrimination charges. The newspaper's lawyers, Fisher & Phillips, asked that the case be dismissed, and that Champion pay legal fees relating to the case.
Carl Cannon, publisher of the Times-Union, said that "we consider the case to be completely without merit."
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