Working in a prison is not an easy job. But it's made even more difficult when co-workers encourage an environment of sexual harassment. Several prison workers say a jail officer did just that, subjecting them to lewd behavior, unwelcome comments and even unwanted detention.

According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, seven of the eight women who worked for the jail officer say he made sexual harassment a common occurrence. They say the man would hand them his personal name card with sexually suggestive phrases, such as "orgies organized."

One woman says he asked female co-workers for dates and repeatedly made inappropriate sexual comments. Another says the man, a 17-year veteran of the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, placed the women in a hallway, making it feel as though he had kidnapped them and put them in an observation room "for his pleasure." He would allegedly make sexual jokes over a loud speaker.

Several of the women filed claims against the man, and also filed a claim against a different jail sergeant for sexual harassment. The women are reportedly asking for $7 million in damages against the officer and another $9 million against the sergeant.

One of the men was already placed on administrative leave. The county says it is investigating and will apparently take appropriate action if it finds evidence of wrongdoing. The director of the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention says it has a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to such harassment.

Source: Seattle Post Intelligencer, "Female jail workers allege years of sexual harassment in workplace," Michelle Esteban, Nov. 29, 2011