A former executive is suing Beckett Media after he says he was bullied by the company’s president to the point of suffering a mental breakdown.
Rodney Alsup of Dallas filed the suit in Texas state court last week. He’s asking for actual and punitive damages of up to $500,000 and wants his job back “in a position that is free of discrimination”.
Alsup’s attorneys say he was hired as Beckett’s national sales manager in June of 2013, then promoted to director of sales and marketing in January of 2014 but suffered a breakdown eight months later. He blames a pattern of intimidation, humiliation and unreasonable expectations by company president Sandeep Dua. He says upon his return to work, the company violated his right to privacy.
Alsup claims breach of contract, disability discrimination and violations of HIPPA laws.
“Beckett Media denies all of Mr. Alsup’s allegations, and will zealously defend against this meritless lawsuit,” Dua stated Tuesday morning. “Beckett looks forward to our day in court where after the truth is revealed, we are confident Beckett will be found to have done nothing wrong.”
Prior to working at Beckett Alsup had been employed by Panini America, which announced in 2013 that he had left the company “to pursue other interests”.
In the suit, Alsup claims his former boss’ management style “is to intimidate, embarrass and ‘ride’ employees constantly stressing that only ‘A’ players are allowed on the bus and ‘C’ players (including those with disabilities) are moved off the bus.” He claims Dua “threw presentations at him” during a meeting in Cleveland and “made him leave the room in front of other Beckett employees.”
Alsup claims “years of goodwill he had built up within the industry” were jeopardized and he had a difficult time functioning in his sales position because he was “stuck between a bullying boss and customers enraged by Mr. Dua’s conduct.”
After Alsup was released from the hospital, he says Beckett violated his privacy by obtaining his medical records and sharing them with Dua and other company employees in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Texas Labor Code. Alsup claims Dua “imposed humiliating and demeaning” reporting requirements, denied him access to company offices and demanded within in a week what he claims was “several months of work” including a 2015 sales budget and plan. He also claims Beckett refused to pay him for three days of work and expense reports in retaliation for making his ADA claim in January of this year.
The suit claims at least one other “current member of Beckett’s management team has been hospitalized for depression due to Mr. Dau’s threats and humiliation.”
Alsup is seeking economic damages including unpaid wages, unpaid expense reports, back pay, front pay, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life” as well as punitive damages to “punish wrongdoing, and prevent similar unlawful conduct.”
He is seeking $100,000-$500,000 in damages.
Beckett is an affiliate of Eli Equity LLC.
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