AUGUSTA – The owner and manager of the Whig & Courier Pub in Bangor likely sexually harassed a server, causing the Bangor woman to quit to avoid his advances, an investigator with the Maine Human Rights Commission concluded.

The commission is expected to rule on the complaint, filed in June 2006, when it meets Oct. 29.

According to Chief Investigator Barbara Lelli’s report, Sherry Eames worked at the pub from 1997 to late 2001, then again from late 2002 to Dec. 30, 2005.

In an interview with the investigator, Eames said she was “not bothered by sexual banter or friendly hugs” and “engaged in this behavior at work” along with other employees and customers.

But in 2005, Eames complained to the owner when a customer, the husband of the pub’s night manager, commented on her breasts. The owner – who is not named in the report – “refused to do anything to stop it,” Eames claimed.

In the fall of 2005, the owner’s behavior toward Eames began changing, she said.

“He began to touch her on bare skin. He told her that he was having difficulties in his marriage. He would ask her to go for rides with him in his truck,” according to the report.

Eames also claimed the owner exhibited a volatile temper at work, and because of it, “she did not directly tell him that she was offended by his actions.”

The owner told the investigator he often touches employees on the shoulder, but denied attempts at more intimate contact.

At a Christmas party in December 2005 at the home of one of the pub’s managers, Eames claimed, the owner “grabbed her, kissed her on the lips and put his tongue in her mouth.”

The owner admitted the kiss to the investigator, but suggested it was in keeping with the holiday mood.

The next day, Eames said, the owner called her at home to ensure she was not upset. She told him she would be leaving the job in two weeks. Asked why, she said, “You know why I am quitting.”

Eames told the investigator that that night at work, the owner told her, “Nobody walks away from me,” and repeatedly tried to get her to go for a ride with him. He also gave her a hand-written poem that night, she claimed.

As Eames left for the night, the owner asked whether he could call her. She declined, but he called her at home later that night, she said. He continued over the next weeks to call her home and leave messages, Eames said.

The owner’s “continued attempts to contact her caused her a great deal of stress,” the report noted. Eames contacted Bangor police in January to seek advice and was told to tell him to stop the contact. She did, Eames told the investigator, but the phone messages continued.

The owner did not recall her telling him to stop calling, he told the investigator.

In May, the owner sent a pub employee to Eames’ home to deliver a birthday gift, she reported. The owner also asked other employees to speak to Eames on his behalf. The attempts at contact ended when Eames filed her complaint with the commission in June.

Lelli reported that Eames’ testimony was “clear and consistent,” and she had documents that showed the owner continued to pursue her even after she quit the job.

The Whig & Courier did not post a sexual harassment notice while Eames was employed and had no policy, procedure or training on the matter, Lelli reported.

She recommended the commission find reasonable grounds to believe Broad Street Buddies Inc., doing business as Whig & Courier, subjected Eames to unlawful sexual harassment, forcing her to quit.

If the commission finds reasonable grounds when it meets Oct. 29, it means the panel concludes the alleged harassment is more likely than not to have occurred. If the reasonable-grounds ruling is issued, the complainant and respondent enter into a conciliation process. If that fails to produce resolution, the complaint can proceed to Superior Court, where a final settlement can include monetary damages.