Female on Female Sexual Harassment by HR Director

Company retreats are known to be a great way to boost company loyalty and increase lasting bonds between employees. If you work for 5Linx Enterprises (a marketing firm headquartered in Rochester, NY) however, you might also be subjected to sexual harassment.

Arkell Cox, an employee at the firm, claims that her HR Director, Denise Mooney, ogled over and grabbed at her breasts in front of ten of her co-workers during a company retreat in Cancun, Mexico in 2015. 

During another trip later in the year, Mooney continued to give Cox unwanted sexual attention, especially towards her breasts. Cox alleges that Mooney put her face towards her chest and said “I just love those things.”

Not only was Cox subjected to Mooney’s repeated harassment, but she also had to turn down the advances of Craig Jerabeck, the former 5Linx CEO and Mooney’s lover. Jerabeck allegedly propositioned Cox to join him and Mooney in a threesome on a private island. He also allegedly mentioned that he wished Mooney had breasts like Cox.

Both Mooney and Jerabeck deny the allegations. They believe that Cox is lying in order to extort money from them.

That’s not all, Jerabeck is also tangled up in another lawsuit alleging that he enticed a handful of top performing 5Linx employees to leave the company and join his new venture. He is being sued for breach of contract. Jerabeck, however, denies the allegations and stands firm that the workers he lured weren’t traditional employees but rather independent contractors.  

Do you think an HR Director would be stupid enough to engage in such sexual conduct with an employee? 

*photo by Flickr