Princeton Woman Bullied at Work for Being Called “Susan Boyle” Files $6 Million Lawsuit [POLL]

A woman who worked for a Manhattan based fragrance company has filed a $6 million dollar lawsuit for being called, among other things, Susan Boyle, the matronly singer who won fame on the British show “ Britain’s Got Talent!”

For that plus other verbal abuse she’s taken, Laura Ziv claims she’s suffered a brain hemorrhage from all the stress the abuse has caused.

Aside from the usual “do you think this lawsuit will hold up” question one asks oneself, there’s the angle of “have you ever been called by a nickname comparing you to anyone or anything else, and did you find it insulting; perhaps to where you may have suffered some sort of stress related illness.

Let me give you a “for instance.”

My grandmother and uncle were famous for giving people nicknames, usually behind their backs. One older neighborhood was referred to as “Truman” because of his resemblance to President Truman.

It happens quite a bit in the workplace too. Some of it good-natured; but in this case, depending on who you talk to, it’s either good natured ribbing, or mental torture.

According to this:

The relentless harassment against Laura Ziv, 45, of Princeton, NJ, allegedly delivered by manager Herve Pierini at the Manhattan headquarters of perfume giant Firmenich was so severe she suffered a brain hemorrhage from the stress, Ziv claims in the $6 million lawsuit.
Ziv says Pierini targeted her after she refused to build a competing fragrance brand using company time in early 2010.

"In January 2010, Pierini taunted Ziv at a party given by an executive of the biggest client at her home by repeatedly referring to Ziv as 'Susan Boyle,' a Scottish singer who is often taunted in the media as being old, fat and ugly," the suit says.

Pierini's insults became more direct after the Boyle comparison.

“On one occasion when a fellow employee did not take the time for lunch, Pierini remarked to Ziv, in the presence of other employees and for them to hear, 'Not like you fatty,'” according to legal papers.

Pierini later allegedly gestured toward Ziv during an office party and said, "Fatty here is having a cupcake."

He then suggested she resign and when Ziv, her family’s sole breadwinner refused, the harassment allegedly continued.

Pierini moved Ziv off an account with the company’s biggest client, where she had tripled sales and took away a promised bonus, the suit says.

Ziv took a medical leave after her blood pressure skyrocketed following treatment for the nearly fatal brain hemorrhage, the suit says.

During her leave, Firmenich stopped paying her salary and cut off her benefits, but has not yet fired her, the court paper state.

She wants the payments to return plus $6 million in damages.

If you’re to believe her, her boss sounds like a real dildo.

However, do you feel this case rises to the level of abuse that it merits the company being sued for 6 million dollars?