A married fashion executive claims she made a desperate attempt to scare off her creepy 80-something boss who had a passion for blondes.
Stephanie Copin, a 38-year-old mother of one, alleges in a new lawsuit that she was sexually harassed by her boss at the Fleet Street coat manufacturer in Manhattan. Some of her coworkers appeared to claim she got the job because of the color of her hair.
When she finally got a coveted office, one employee even said, “The young blonde gets what she wants from her father,” according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
The intimidation eventually proved untenable and Copin was forced to dye her hair brown to appear less attractive to 83-year-old Fleet Street CEO and president Manny Haber.
But her efforts only led to her being attacked and fired, Copin claims.
Stephanie Copin, 38, alleges in a new lawsuit that she was sexually harassed by her boss at Manhattan coat manufacturer Fleet Street
Copin alleges in her lawsuit that the sexual harassment began when she first went for a job interview at the coatmaker.
Haber conducted the interview and the first thing he said to Copin was, ‘Wow, you’re [a] “A feast for the eyes,” the complaint said.
During the interview, he frequently made comments like, “Do you have any other friends like you? That you can bring to the company?” he claims.
After questioning Copin—and having her try on one of the jackets—the vice president of sales began questioning her as well, telling Copin, “He likes it when you try things on for him, so keep doing that.”
“The last girl who was here had a problem with it,” the vice president is said to have told Copin.
About a week later, she was hired as the account manager for The FRYE Company account. Copin said that almost immediately after she started, she heard other employees making comments like, “What a surprise, another blonde,” and “Oh, he definitely has a type.”
Copin says in the lawsuit that she was hired as an account manager at the Manhattan-based coat manufacturer in August 2023.
While she continued to work at the coat manufacturer, Copin alleged that Haber held her in his office and placed his hand on her thigh “and acted as if he was just trying to hurry up or see better,” the complaint said.
He also regularly commented on Copin’s appearance, called her after work, invited her out for drinks (which she repeatedly avoided) and repeatedly asked her to wear tops. He used her modeling job as a pretext to look at her breasts, the organization alleges.
Eventually, Haber allegedly even lured Copin back to his Brooklyn apartment after an after-work meeting at the Plaza Hotel
Court documents show he told Copin his driver would take her back to her home in Clifton, New Jersey, before dropping him off at his apartment.
But instead they arrived at Haber’s house and he convinced Copin to come and see him, claiming that they would not be alone because the housekeeper was there.
Once inside, Haber is said to have lured Copin into his bedroom to show her the view of the city from his window.
He is then accused of exposing himself in front of Copin, grabbing her hand and forcing her to touch his penis.
She claims CEO and President Manny Haber would make her wear some of the tops in an attempt to expose her breasts
Copin says she froze at first, but then she realized she could be raped if she didn’t do anything.
“She pushed him away and ran out of the room,” court documents said.
“I was shaking, it was a blur when I walked out of that building,” she said. told the New York Post.
‘I still didn’t understand what had happened to me. I just wanted to go home.’
But when she returned to her New Jersey home, she couldn’t bear to look at her son.
“I went straight to the shower,” Copin said.[Then] I hid in my room.
She added that she had decided not to tell her husband at the time because he already suspected she was cheating, as Haber had broken work boundaries, for example by calling her after hours.
According to the indictment, Copin was hired as an account manager for The FRYE Company
Copin says she cried several times at work after the incident, but the harassment didn’t stop, with Haber even allegedly grabbing her butt in front of her coworkers.
She said she eventually asked Haber to stop asking her out because “I really like my job and I don’t want this to get in the way of my work.”
But he replied menacingly: “It will not end well for you, my love,” the court documents said.
“He started being really mean to me,” Copin told the Post.
‘[He] never acknowledged what he did, never apologized. It was hard watching him every day, trying to get me into a position where he could touch me and grope me again.’
She said she wanted to “quit every day” and noted that Haber began “humiliating” her in front of her colleagues.
According to the indictment, Haber fired Copin on Nov. 16, 2023.
Earlier that day, she said, he had called a company-wide meeting where he “mocked” her and called her “incompetent” in front of her colleagues.
DailyMail.com has contacted Fleet Street and Haber for comment
According to Copin, the incident destroyed her life both financially and personally.
She told the Post that she has not been able to find a job since then and is now filing for divorce.
In the meantime, she is forced to seek therapy, as she still cries at random moments and struggles with low self-esteem.
She also said that despite being blonde in the past, she chose to stay brown because “I don’t even want to be looked at.”
Her attorney Mark Shirian said he and his client are now demanding “justice and accountability” for the mistreatment she endured at the company.
“Stephanie bravely resisted inappropriate advances and was punished by Mr. Haber as a result,” Shirian said.
“This behavior is unacceptable and a clear violation of her rights.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Fleet Street and Haber for comment.