Allergy to Gloves Cited in Firing Suit
A medical technician charged in a lawsuit Thursday that he was sexually harassed by his supervisor and fired by his Irvine employer because he was allergic to powdered latex gloves.
The technician, David Sanft, was joined in the suit by the state Department of Fair Housing and Employment, a regulatory agency with police powers.
In the suit, the department said it was informed by the supervisor and the company, Bravo Cardiovascular Inc., that they preferred to litigate the dispute rather than participate in a hearing before the department’s Fair Employment and Housing Commission.
Attorneys for all sides could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Sanft charged in the suit that while he worked for the company from March to August, 1992, his supervisor subjected him to verbal and physical harassment.
When she learned that Sanft had sued a previous employer for sexual harassment, the suit charges, “her attitude toward me changed from being friendly to unfriendly.”
After that, Sanft charged, he was forced out of his job because he developed an allergy to powdered latex gloves, which caused him to take sick leave.
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