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A former employee at the Tufenkian Carpets showroom and store in Northwest Portland is alleging in a lawsuit that his supervisor repeatedly sexually harassed him last year, including by gifting him a bag full of BDSM gear.
The lawsuit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Thursday by a former employee of Tufenkian named Charles Wiseman, alleges that the company terminated Wiseman after he formally complained to the luxury carpet company about his supervisor, Frank Bence, engaging in inappropriate behaviors. The alleged behavior included unwanted touching, invitations to Bence’s home, and Bence’s remarks about his own sex life; Wiseman also alleges that Bence gave Wiseman a bag full of BDSM materials that included a sex harness, a horse bit and a sex swing. (In addition to working at Tufenkian, Bence appears to run his own design company.)
Wiseman alleges in the lawsuit that he reported the behaviors in a formal complaint to the company’s commercial director, Glenn Ludwig, in November 2023. The filing alleges that Ludwig investigated the complaint and determined that it was inconclusive, but did concede that Bence had violated company policy by bringing a “sexualized item” to the workplace. Bence remained employed, and the lawsuit says that Ludwig told Wiseman that he would continue working alongside Bence—though he would have permission to film Bence if he took any further actions that Wiseman felt were inappropriate. Ledwig also said another employee would always be present, the lawsuit says.
Wiseman requested more time to think about Ludwig’s response. The lawsuit says Ludwig then sent him a termination letter in December.
“Defendants offered Plaintiff a small monetary sum in exchange for Plaintiff releasing all claims he potentially had against them, which included any sexual harassment claim, and demanded that Plaintiff agree to ‘confidentiality’ and ‘non-disparagement,’” the filing alleges. “Plaintiff did not sign the document.”
Tufenkian, which is headquartered in New York, did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Bence nor Ludwig.
Wiseman is asking for $687,000 in damages.