Suit: Ex-worker had to tape up boss’ breasts

A former worker at Manhattan’s PUBLIC hotel was forced to stick body tape onto his boss’ bare breasts while on the job, according to a new lawsuit.

James Sanders, a gay, black man, was hired at the swanky hotel on Chrystie St. on the Lower East Side in 2018 to take reservations for rooms and restaurants.

Soon his boss, Maria Escallon, began to harass him based on his sexuality, asking for his advice on dresses and clothes because he is gay, said the suit brought Friday in Manhattan Federal Court.

The harassment escalated when Escallon sent Sanders to buy body tape on May 13, 2018, because her dress would not stay on, according to the suit.

It made him uncomfortable, but Sanders bought the tape anyhow, the suit claims.

“When [Sanders] returned to the hotel, Defendant Escallon came into [Sanders’] workspace and began disrobing. Defendant Escallon was entirely naked from the waist up and handed [Sanders] the body tape demanding that he secure it to her bare breasts,” the lawsuit says.

On top of the charges of harassment and sexual harassment, Sanders also claims he was paid less than his white counterparts in the hotel’s reservations division.

While Sanders was paid $15 per hour, the two other reservationists, who were both white, made $18 per hour — even though they joined the staff after him, says the suit.

When Sanders complained to management about his pay and the issues with Escallon, he was assigned fewer work hours, the lawsuit claims.

Sanders says that because of his repeated complaints about Escallon, he was fired in 2019.

The PUBLIC hotel did not immediately respond to request for comment on the lawsuit.