A Utah company is being sued for allowing a supervisor to “waterboard” an employee as part of a morale-building exercise.
Salesman Chad Hudgens, 26, claims he was subjected to the controversial CIA torture technique by boss Joshua Christopherson as part of a group “camaraderie” event at a motivational coaching business.
“Christopherson told the team that he wanted them to work as hard on making sales as
Chad had worked to breathe while he was being waterboarded,” the suit alleges.
Christopherson also drew mustaches on employees’ faces, took away their chairs and beat on their desks with a wooden paddle, Hudgens claims.
But company president Dave Ellis insists the charges are “sensationalized.” He says Christopherson is “a really nice, pleasant, polite young man,” that Hudgens volunteered for the waterboarding, that other employees were “involved and enthusiastic” about the torture demonstration, and that beating on desks with a paddle is “humorous” and “fun.”
The company’s website claims, “We strive to make the road to personal achievement meaningful, rewarding, and enjoyable.”
