Two former workers are suing Eddie Bauer LLC, saying they were victims of retaliation after reporting racist remarks by their managers at the Augusta store, as well as altered time sheets.

The lawsuit filed by attorney Rebecca Webber on behalf of Tammy Atkins-Poulin, of Winslow, and Raquel Eliasen, of Readfield, was moved to federal court last month by the Delaware-chartered retail company.

The lawsuit charges violation of the state Whistleblower Protection Act, and violation of state and federal wage and hour laws. On Monday, the company denied the allegations involving racism and said through attorney Melinda Caterine that it did nothing wrong and that the lawsuit should be dismissed.

“Defendant acted in good faith and without malice or unlawful intent at all relevant times,” the response says. It also says the company “properly compensated” the women for all their work.

The women seek a judgment in their favor plus an order “compelling (Eddie Bauer) to desist from all unlawful harassment and retaliation,” as well as triple the amount of the back wages claimed, a civil forfeiture of $500 for each woman, and attorneys fees and costs.

Documents show that Eliasen was hired Dec. 1, 2015 as co-manager of the store, and Atkins-Poulin began work there as a sales associate on March 29, 2016.

The complaint, which is at U.S. District Court in Bangor, says that while working there, the two women “observed and experienced a racially hostile environment created by their managers’ racist comments, racial slurs and racially motivated employment decisions, which they each found offensive and reported to management.”

In one example cited in the lawsuit, the women said, “A young African American man came into interview. He was very well dressed, had college in his background (which is a big deal in the retail world), was well spoken and professional.”

After Eliasen recommended hiring him, the complaint says store manager Angela Paine refused, explaining, “Well, he’s black and customers won’t buy anything from him.” Eliasen told her that was illegal, according to the complaint.

The complaint also says Atkins-Poulin reported that assistant manager Jennifer Karlson followed people of color and people with head scarves around the store but did not follow white customers.

It also says that Paine and Karlson frequently used racial slurs and refused to wait on customers of color.

Atkins-Poulin reported being disgusted by the behavior and telling Karlson, “Everyone deserves to be treated with respect,” the complaint says.

Atkins-Poulin and Eliasen also say their time cards appeared to be changed and that they were underpaid for the hours worked.

Eliasen reported the suspected time card changes to a regional manager in October 2016 and said that she was later accused by Paine of causing a hostile work environment, according to the complaint.

The complaint says Eliasen was fired Feb. 27, 2017, five days after she “accidentally left the store” with $50 on her that she intended to shift from one register to another, but then “got distracted with closing paperwork.”

She said called the store to report what happened and was told to bring it in on her next shift. The day she returned the money she was fired.

The complaint says Eliasen received unemployment benefits “because Eddie Bauer had not proved that she was terminated for misconduct and could not point to a single policy that Raquel had broken.”

Atkins-Poulin said she reported that she was disciplined for no reason, ostracized, and refused consideration for other jobs at the store, so she felt forced to give notice that she was leaving.

“Tammy was constructively terminated because no reasonable employee would have been able to endure the hostility to which she was subjected,” the complaint says.

Initial discrimination complaints by each woman was filed with the Maine Human Rights Commission.

The two women are currently employed in other fields, Webber said.

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