Workers win $5.1M payout for enduring ex-employers’ ‘cult-like’ ideas
By ANDREW KESHNER and JAMES FANELLI
| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
APR 29, 2018 | 4:00 AM
For the rest of the story, read here:
[beta.nydailynews.com]
By ANDREW KESHNER and JAMES FANELLI
| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
APR 29, 2018 | 4:00 AM
Quote
lawsuit cleansed these 10 workers of their ex-bosses' cultish religious ideas.
The former employees of United Health Programs of America — a discount medical plan — joined with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to win $5.1 million from a unanimous jury in Brooklyn Federal Court last week.
Their suit charged United Health coerced employees into religious practices that included odd spiritual cleansing rituals and seminars about the teachings of a wacky cartoon onion.
"I'm ecstatic. Justice was served," said Francine Pennisi, one of the ex-employees who, along with the employment commission, sued United Health and its parent company, Cost Containment Group, in 2014.
Pennisi described United Health as "cult-like" because of its affiliation with the Harnessing Happiness Foundation, a nonprofit that says it "aims to infuse happiness and hope into everyday life."
Harnessing Happiness uses the cartoon character Onionhead, an anthropomorphized root vegetable who teaches emotional awareness by showing the many layers of feelings.
For the rest of the story, read here:
[beta.nydailynews.com]