Employee sues Breakthru Beverage, alleges HR dismissed harassment complaints

What happened after she spoke up, though, is where the case gets especially relevant for HR professionals. 

Boccia says she reported the conduct to HR employee Jennifer Heinz and Sales Manager Kevin Prentic. According to the suit, the company did not carry out a fair or thorough investigation. Sanders, she alleges, was left in place as her direct supervisor — and then began retaliating. She says he shifted her to later hours, gave her longer and less desirable assignments, pulled back support he had previously provided, and told her he would stop working around her school schedule. 

Prentic, meanwhile, allegedly asked her on multiple occasions when she planned to put in her two-week notice. 

On or about January 30, 2025, Boccia emailed Heinz to flag that the harassment and retaliation were still going on and that Prentic was now part of the problem. The response, she alleges, came on or about February 16, 2025: Heinz told her Prentic’s conduct did not constitute harassment, said her educational schedule would not be accommodated, and asked whether she was going to resign by the end of the month. 

The suit also alleges the company had previously tolerated, trivialized, and concealed similar behavior by Sanders aimed at other female employees. Boccia further claims she had been reassigned at one point to avoid a vendor who had sexually harassed her, only for Sanders to reverse that move and force her back into regular contact with the same vendor.