A former writer for Nu Skin International's corporate magazine is suing the company, saying it has an unwritten policy of discriminating against women.
Rebecca A. Hintze, 27, Sandy, filed a 10-page complaint in U.S. District Court Thursday morning claiming Nu Skin denies women equal pay and opportunity because of their gender. The award she is seeking was not disclosed."The primary purpose of this suit is not to gain money. This is really a moral issue for me," Hintze said in a written statement.
Nu Skin officials say they're surprised by the suit.
Company spokesman Jason Chaffetz said Hintze's allegations are groundless.
"Nu Skin has policies that prohibit discrimination in the workplace and every attempt is made to treat Nu Skin employees in a fair manner," he said.
Hintze, who worked for Nu Skin from April 1990 to July 1991, says she was unfairly demoted during her seventh month of pregnancy, creating stress for her and her unborn child. She said the change caused her physical and emotional damage.
Chaffetz said Hintze was transferred to a comparable job in a different department.
"She had a very good position and she quit," he said.
Hintze told the Deseret News that she believes Nu Skin has a lot of "old-fashioned" ideas about women in the workplace. Hintze said she was told there was no place at Nu Skin for ambitious women.
Nu Skin disagrees.
"We have an excellent track record and it starts at the top," Chaffetz said. Two of the multilevel marketing company's seven stockholders - Sandie Tillotson and Nedra Roney Anderson - are women. Tillotson is also a vice president. Nu Skin was founded by Anderson's brother, Blake Roney.
According to a November 1991 Deseret News story, 53 percent of Nu Skin's 1,000 corporate employees are women. Women make up 34 percent of the company's managers or professionals.
Although Hintze, who earned a degree in journalism from Brigham Young University, filed suit against Nu Skin, she decries sexual discrimination in general.
"I hope my case will educate many Utah employers and motivate a perceptual change that will result in women being treated fairly in the workplace," she said.