Joe Francis Named in Ex-Employee's Lawsuit

Plaintiff alleges sexual harassment, mismanagement

LOS ANGELES - A former sales rep for 'Girls Gone Wild' founder Joe Francis' company Mantra Films filed a sexual harassment suit against Francis, his companies and her former supervisor Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Tranae Hammond's lawsuit claims that she was "the victim of repeated acts of sexual harassment by a supervisor named Ron and was fired after coming forward," the Los Angeles Times reported today.

While the lawsuit does not charge Francis with sexual harrassment, Hammond claims the Girls mogul mismanaged the company and ignored the supervisor's alleged actions. Court papers state that the supervisor "touched and massaged Hammond's shoulders and arms, frequently spoke about sex in front of her, and on at least one occasion 'tapped (her) buttocks with a clipboard'... creating a hostile work environment."

The lawsuit also seeks class action status for claims including failure to pay overtime, failure to provide required meal and rest periods, and failure to maintain required records, the Times reported.

Francis is currently in jail in Reno, awaiting trial on federal tax evasion charges.