A Queens home improvement storeowner allegedly thought that he could sexually harass an employee over text and get away with it. He was wrong!
Valerie Martinez was hired by Joseph Musso in July 2013 to clean up construction job sites for his company, JP Home Improvement. But things went down hill after only her first week on the job, the Post reports.
"Why don’t you look that good when you come to work?” Musso allegedly texted Martinez when she came into pick up her first paycheck.
“That is inappropriate. Let’s keep this professional,” she wrote back, to which he replied: he replied, “OK, you’re fired.”
He kindly clarified a day later: "I never needed u 2 work. I just made work 4 u. If u call what u were getting paid 4 work." Sassy! But also, harassment. Martinez hung onto the texts and filed a complaint with the city's Human Rights Commission, resulting in a judge recommending that Musso pay Martinez $17,020 for back wages and $10,000 for mental anguish.
