When embarking on an internship these days, hopeful candidates are dealing with more than just coffee runs and no pay.
Lihuan Wang, a former intern at Phoenix Satellite Television U.S., sued the company in January for sexual harassment after her supervisor Liu Zhengzhu allegedly tried to kiss her and lure her into his hotel room. But a judge is telling her that because she was an unpaid intern, she can’t technically sue as an employee of that company.
WTF?!
According to a Bloomberg BNA report, Wang was also denied a job because she didn’t engage in sexual activity with Zhengzhu.
The intern alleging harassment, Lihuan Wang, filed a suit against Phoenix in January. According to the complaint, in early 2010, two weeks after Wang started working at the Chinese-language media company’s New York office, her supervisor and bureau chief, Liu Zhengzhu, invited her and several co-workers to lunch. Wang claims Liu asked her to stay after the meal to discuss her work performance and then asked her to accompany him to his hotel so he could drop off a few things. In the hotel room, she alleges, Liu took off his jacket, untied his tie, and threw his arms around her, exclaiming, “Why are you so beautiful?” She claims Liu held her for about five seconds, tried to kiss her, and squeezed her buttocks. According to the complaint, Wang pushed Liu away and left the room…
If Wang wasn’t degraded enough by her experience as an intern, Judge Kevin Castel ruled last week that she was restricted protection under the 1964 Civil Rights Act or the New York Human Rights Law because she never worked for the company, so therefore wasn’t considered an actual employee.
Wang is also suing the company for failure to hire her after the experience. Her former boss has left the company and never discussed the allegations with his attorney.
So much for being protected by the law.
SOURCE: GAWKER | BLOOMBERG NEWS
