A former Comcast employee has filed a lawsuit accusing a store manager in Plainville, Connecticut, of creating a hostile work environment by forcing underperforming employees to be tied up and have cream pies smashed in their faces.
The lawsuit, filed in Connecticut state court by David Figueroa, alleges that store manager Sally Fuentes Peterson implemented the practice to "bully" staff into meeting sales targets and achieving positive customer survey scores. Figueroa is seeking over $15,000 in damages, claiming constructive discharge and negligence.
According to the complaint, Peterson would order the top-performing sales person of the month to tie the lowest-ranked employee to a chair in a back office and then "assault that person by violently smashing a cream pie in their face." The lawsuit states that Peterson videotaped these incidents and instructed other employees to record them as well.
Figueroa's lawsuit claims Peterson maintained a whiteboard in a back room to track employees scheduled for these pie assaults, marking their names with a frowny-face emoji getting pied. He stated he witnessed the alleged assaults on at least two occasions. On February 25, he reported seeing a co-worker, identified as "Ty," being tied up and pied after Peterson's order. Two days later, Figueroa observed a video of assistant sales manager Jania being pied for receiving a poor customer survey score.
Figueroa reported the alleged policy to Maranda Cody, a Comcast regional manager, via text message on February 27. He expressed his discomfort with the store's handling of underperforming representatives, specifically mentioning the pie assaults. The lawsuit states Cody did not respond to his message, leading Figueroa to resign from his position. He was hired in February and claims he was not informed of this policy beforehand, alleging it violated state worker protections.
Comcast has denied the allegations, issuing a statement asserting the company's zero tolerance for harassment and any behavior that compromises a respectful and safe workplace. A spokesperson stated that the company disagrees with the claims and intends to fully respond through the legal process, adding that they will not comment further on the specific allegations due to the ongoing litigation.