Waitress Sues Over Naked Ring Toss

OCTOBER 11--A waitress claims that the married owners of an Oregon restaurant created a hostile workplace in which the employee was solicited for sex advice, was asked to rub lotion on the husband’s penis, guess the man’s “measurements,” and participate in a “ring toss game on his penis,” according to a federal harassment lawsuit.

Jessica Webber alleges she quit her job last year at the Markum Inn in the midst of a private party thrown by Ward and Julie Frederick, the eatery’s owners. According to her October 6 complaint, a copy of which you’ll find here, Webber had worked at the Marquam restaurant for nearly three years.

Webber contends that Julie Frederick “talked about her sexual fantasies” and asked “about sexual advice” on several occasions. Frederick, she noted, also showed her a letter from her husband which “promised to fulfill any sexual fantasy.” The Fredericks are pictured at right in a family photo that was included in recent ad for the Markum Inn.

According to the lawsuit, Webber’s employment ended last April during a private “Ladies only” party that Julie Frederick, 44, said “was a practice run” for a future bachelorette party. During the party, Webber recalled, Julie Frederick “handed out a questionnaire to plaintiff and others with questions relating to the genitalia of the male stripper and Mr. Frederick including questions regarding the size and circumference of Mr. Frederick’s penis.”

When partygoers arrived, Ward Frederick, 46, “stripped down to thong underwear” and began giving lap dances to employees and guests, Webber claimed. “A few minutes later, Mr. Frederick removed his thong, and became completely nude.” At that point, Julie Frederick “began asking the guests and employees to guess the measurements of Mr. Frederick’s penis and asked employees to rub lotion on Mr. Frederick.”

Ward Frederick then allegedly “began masturbating in front of the guests and employees so the measurements of his erect penis could be taken, and so others could play a ring toss game on his penis.”

Webber noted that she left the restaurant while the party was still in progress and “did not return to work at the Markum Inn.” Webber’s civil complaint, which names the Markum Inn as the sole defendant, includes claims for sexual harassment, hostile environment, and wrongful termination.

A TSG message left for the Fredericks at their business was not returned by the couple. In a Markum Inn advertisement, the couple describe the restaurant’s atmosphere as “warm, inviting,” adding that it is “in a setting that welcomes the whole family.” (6 pages)