A French woman is taking telecom giant Orange to court for “moral harassment and discrimination at work,” accusing the company of paying her for 20 years without giving her any tasks.
Laurence Van Wassenhove joined France Telecom, later acquired by Orange, in 1993 as a civil servant. Despite being hemiplegic from birth and suffering from epilepsy, she was offered a position adapted to her medical conditions, working as a secretary and in HR until 2002. After requesting a transfer to another region, an occupational medicine report confirmed that her new role was unsuitable. Yet, Orange allegedly did not accommodate her needs, instead of paying her full salary for 20 years without assigning any work.