Former Employee Audrey Urda Sues Petsmart for Hostile Work Environment, Sexual Harassment by Two Managers, Other Charges

Former employee Audrey Urda sues Petsmart for creating hostile work environment, sexual harassment by two managers, Matthew Girard and Charles Vesseley, retaliation & wrongful termination stemming from incidents at two of its stores.

For the millions of Americans with pets who have shopped at Petsmart at some point. Well, the company is being sued by Audrey Urda, who claims she was subjected to a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and other intentional incidents in two of its stores -- one in New York and the other in Virginia.

Ms. Urda filed a civil suit today against the multi-billion dollar specialty pet retailer and one of its managers in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond, VA. The complaint provides explicit details of the sexually degrading and humiliating verbal taunts and the provocative and threatening behavior to which Ms. Urda was consistently subjected during her five-year tenure as a Pet Care Specialist in two PetSmart locations – the first in New York, the later in Virginia.

David Sanford and Katherine Leong of Sanford, Wittels & Heisler LLP in Washington, DC are representing Ms. Urda.

"Audrey was subjected to some of the most egregious and explicit sexual harassment in not one, but two Pet Smart stores, from two successive managers," said Mr. Sanford. "These managers' behavior – and the corporation's tolerance of it – is not only wrong, it is uncivilized. The corporation may tout its support for animal rights, but its managers' treatment of Audrey, who had been a stellar employee, was nothing short of inhumane."

A resident of Virginia, Ms. Urda began working for PetSmart in October 2005, as a Pet Care Specialist in the Pet Care Department of the corporation's Vestal, New York, store. In July 2009 – as a result of sexual harassment by the Vestal store manager Charles Vesseley -- she transferred to the PetSmart store in Chesterfield, Virginia, where she continued working as a Pet Care Specialist under the supervision of Store Manager Matthew Girard.

On multiple occasions, Mr. Girard sexually assaulted Ms. Urda behind locked doors, offenses to which he has already pleaded guilty in Chesterfield County Court. Source

The fact that Matthew Girard pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting Ms. Urda will definitely work against the company in court. It's a shame that the hostility didn't come from aggressive animals but from a human pig.