victory over pefumed office worker

[Guest guest]

One by one...precedents are being set.

Also, notice in the article the DEFENSE attorney cited GLade Plug Ins as

TOXIC! Wonder if Glade is going to go after them!

http://www.detnews.com/2005/business/0505/24/A01-191461.htm

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Radio DJ wins $10.6 million in stink over perfume

WYCD personality claims she was fired after co-worker's scent made her

sick.

By Shepardson / The Detroit News

Weber

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DETROIT -- A former top-ranked radio host, who claims she was sickened by

a colleague's use of a perfume described as " romantic, sensual,

emotional, " won $10.6 million in a federal court lawsuit Monday.

Weber, who was on the air at WYCD-FM (99.5), contends in her suit

that she was fired in 2001 after she complained about being exposed to

Tresor perfume, which sells for $45.50 a bottle and is described by

Lancome as a combination of ingredients such as rose and lilac. She said

she was sickened by the fumes, a condition that began when a co-worker

exposed her to spilled nail-polish remover in the country music station's

Southfield studio.

The perfume was worn, her suit said, by another radio personality,

Lee, whose legal surname is Bullock.

" I'm thankful that the jury took so much time to come to the right

conclusion, " Weber, 43, of Cleveland, said after the verdict. " It's a

great day. "

The verdict awarded her $7 million in punitive damages, $2 million in

mental anguish and emotional distress and $1.6 million for past and future

compensation after a six-woman jury in U.S. District Court in Detroit

spent eight days deliberating.

Weber claimed exposure to Tresor caused her to lose her voice and take

lengthy absences from work. She also said she once " felt an electric shock

quell through my entire body " and required heavy medication to combat the

effects.

Weber says she been unable to get another job in radio since she was fired

in 2001 and claims Infinity Broadcasting " blacklisted her " -- a claim the

company rejects. She now works as a freelance voiceover specialist and can

be heard on thousands of Otis elevators all over the country, announcing

the number of each floor.

Weber, who began work in March 1999, claimed that soon afterward,

co-workers spilled " toxic chemicals " in the radio studio and she suffered

" raw chemical burns to her airways and sinuses. " Her doctor,

, " warned (Weber) that further exposure to perfume could even

result in death, " a brief from her lawyers said.

Her doctor said Weber shouldn't be exposed to co-worker Lee's Tresor

perfume.

Weber claimed Lee, who is co-host of the & Lee afternoon show,

intentionally exposed her to her perfume. WYCD said it specifically

required Lee to stop wearing any perfume in response to Weber's

complaints. The station said in its response that it modified Weber's

schedule so they wouldn't come into conduct during shift changes.

In a May 2001 e-mail to the station manager, presented as evidence, Weber

said Lee's perfume caused her to lose her voice and that Lee intentionally

walked by her at the Downtown Detroit Hoedown -- a popular annual country

music festival. " nearly brushed past me and a cloud of perfume

trailed behind me, " Weber wrote.

" To have brought the perfume with her suggests forward planning. This

appears to be a premeditated attack which was entirely unprovoked by me in

anyway, " Weber wrote. " Please tell me what steps you plan to take to

ensure my safety. "

Lee did not return a telephone message seeking comment left at the radio

station.

Weber's lawyer, Sterling, said his client doesn't have problems

with " natural smells " but does with the chemical basis of the perfume -- a

fact he says was confirmed by three doctors at the weeklong civil trial.

" The real reason she was fired is that management didn't make her stop

wearing the perfume, " Sterling, a Troy lawyer, said. " There are co-workers

in all walks of life that don't get along for one reason or another, but

it's up to management to handle the situation. "

Weber was fired in September 2001.

The station is owned by Infinity Broadcasting. Infinity lawyer

Tukel said in a court filing that the toxic chemicals in the studio were

Glade Air Freshener and acetone, used once for manicures during a

morning-show " bit. "

In October 2000, Weber took a three-month medical leave and returned to

work in January 2001.

A spokeswoman for Infinity said the company planned to appeal. " We're

disappointed in the verdict and intend to make all the appropriate

post-trial motions, " said L. Mateo.

Mateo also said the company's lawyers believe the $7 million punitive

damages verdict will be reduced to $300,000. Federal law generally caps

punitive damages at $300,000 for the claims that Weber brought.

Weber's lawyer said that's likely, but they will try to convince the judge

to uphold the full verdict. Weber's lawyer also said they will ask the

judge to order Infinity to pay Weber's legal bills, which could hike the

verdict.

Weber, who was a 26-year radio veteran, also claimed the station paid her

far less than her male co-workers. She was nominated five times for the

Country Music Assocation's Personality of the Year award.

The station manager, Rodman, said in a deposition that Weber " always

gave top-level professional work to the station. "

Weber previously worked in Cleveland at top-rated WGAR. The station

admitted that " (Weber) had both the highest revenues and highest profits

of all of WYCD's shows " in 2000, Weber's last full year at the station.

In 2001, frustrated with the " glass ceiling " at the station, Weber said

she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The station then retaliated, she said, by taking away an endorsement deal,

removing her e-mail account and assigning her a new shift.

You can reach Shepardson at (313) 222-2028 or dshepardson@

detnews.com.

" If having endured much, we at last asserted our 'right to know' and if,

knowing, we have concluded that we are being asked to take senseless and

frightening risks, then we should no longer accept the counsel of those

who tell us that we must fill our world with poisonous chemicals, we

should look around and see what other course is open to us. "

Carson

" My toxicasa (world) is your toxicasa (world). "

Judith Goode