| 7/31/2006 AuctionBytes
eBay Sued for Discrimination, Breach of Contract
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes.com
July 31, 2006
Reading AuctionBytes: eBay Sued for Discrimination, Breach of Contract
Emmanuel
Kepas, an employee of eBay in the Draper, Utah office, filed a sexual
and age discrimination lawsuit against eBay on Thursday. Kepas had
joined eBay in July 2003 and worked as the Manager of eBay's eWatch
team through January 2005, when he was demoted to analyst. Kepas said
in court documents that the woman who replaced him as eWatch Manager
and whom he accuses of sexual harassment had a history of inappropriate
sexual behavior of which eBay was aware.
According to Kepas' lawsuit, he requested to be transferred but was
refused, he reported the problems to eBay's ethics hotline, and
complained to the Senior Manager of Human Resources. In February, Kepas
took an unpaid administrative leave of absence from eBay after
experiencing tinnitus and symptoms of anxiety. Kepas filed a Charge of
Discrimination against eBay in March with the Utah Anti-Discrimination
and Labor Division of the Utah Labor Commission.
According to Kepas' complaint, eBay has refused to speak with him
regarding his claims unless he does so without his counsel and is
insisting that he return to work.
Kepas is seeking $3.8 million for discrimination under the Civil
Rights Act and $966,640 for Breach of Contract and Breach of Covenant
of Good Faith and Fair Dealing.
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