STEVENS POINT - A couple who worked for Sentry Insurance's hospitality business sued the company, alleging its managers discriminated against them, allowed a hostile and sexist work environment and fired them for reporting and documenting the behavior.

Teresa and David Fischer, who worked at the company's SentryWorld facility in Stevens Point, filed the civil suit in federal court in late February. Teresa Fischer said she experienced sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination and retaliation while working as the company's front house manager for PJ's restaurant.

The lawsuit also says David Fischer, 69, who led SentryWorld's banquet department, experienced age-based discrimination and retaliation for his and his wife's objections to her work conditions.

The Fischers' complaint focuses on what they contend were the actions and words of Michael James, general manager of SentryWorld, and Roger Payne, who was executive chef and restaurant head of PJ's.

"Sentry put in charge men who abused, silenced, marginalized and even preyed upon women," Amy Tutwiler, the couple's attorney, said in a statement. "Sentry then further victimized women by rewarding those men when the company had cause to know of the abuse and retaliated against the one man who formally protested the abuse."

Sentry rejected the claims in a statement to the Stevens Point Journal, which is a member of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.

“The claims made in this lawsuit are outrageous, untrue and do not reflect the facts of what took place when the Fischers were employed at SentryWorld," said the statement provided by company spokeswoman Carolyn Schamberger. "We will vigorously defend ourselves against the claims made by the Fischers, each of whom failed on multiple occasions to meet the high standards of performance Sentry and our SentryWorld guests expect. We look forward to the opportunity to present the facts as the court case proceeds."

The Fischers are seeking unspecified damages from their time at SentryWorld. Teresa Fischer was fired in March 2017 and David Fischer was fired eight months later, and the nature of their terminations made it hard to find work and pay bills, their attorney said.

According to the lawsuit, James ignored female employees' ideas and criticized and disciplined them more frequently and harshly than their male counterparts — often calling them "too motherly."

The lawsuit also said Payne gave his sous chefs authority over Fischer and her assistant managers. The sous chefs belittled and yelled at them, as did Payne, according to the complaint.

Payne also made demeaning and "sexually charged" comments toward women at PJ's, according to the lawsuit. Fischer claimed that when she wore a sundress in the PJ's kitchen, Payne said, "I can't look at you right now because all I see are your breasts."

A female employee under Teresa Fischer's supervision, also represented by Tutwiler, filed a sexual harassment and discrimination complaint with the state in December 2017, making similar accusations against James and Payne. Sentry settled with the woman and she withdrew her complaint in April 2018, according to state records. Conditions of the settlement were kept private.

Payne and James also used a performance review system to give both female assistant managers at SentryWorld lower bonuses than their male peers, who received the highest possible ratings, according to the Fischers' suit.

James also changed female assistant managers from salaried positions to hourly wage workers to prevent them from working overtime, according to the lawsuit.

The harassment toward Teresa Fischer became so frequent and severe that she kept a written log, which went missing from her bag at work in early January 2017, two months before James fired her, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit claims James and Payne edited her January 2017 annual performance review after the log went missing to retroactively create reasons to fire her.

But the company responded that — after firing Teresa Fischer — James offered her a non-management inventory position.

"Sentry went above and beyond to try and create opportunities for the Fischer family. The company created a position which better fit Mrs. Fischer’s skill-set, yet, she declined our offer," the company said in a statement.

Tutwiler said in a statement the company set up Fischer for failure because it was a token position that would have her regularly lift between 50 and 100 pounds and have no customer contact. Fischer is a 135-pound, 5-foot 4-inch, 54-year-old woman and could not meet the physical demands of the job, according to the lawsuit.

Sentry offered David Fischer a $30,000 retention bonus on March 7, 2017, the same day the company fired his wife, according to the lawsuit.

Tutwiler said David Fischer declined the offer because he wasn't comfortable with what happened with his wife, and because it came with the condition that he had to pay it back if he quit or was fired in the next two years.

Teresa Fischer reported her alleged discrimination to Sentry on March 31, 2017. The company never requested to interview her, she said in the lawsuit.

David Fischer filed a complaint against Sentry Insurance with the Equal Rights Division of Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development on Nov. 6, 2017, a week after he was fired. Teresa Fischer filed a complaint with the state on Dec. 18, 2017.

The state dismissed David Fischer's claim. No hearings were held.

"The State of Wisconsin’s Equal Rights Division has already investigated Mr. Fischer’s allegations and dismissed his claims after concluding we had legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons for terminating his employment," the company said in a statement.

The company criticized Teresa Fischer for filing a lawsuit instead of letting the state finish investigating her complaint.

Tutwiler said the state commission accepted the company's version of disputed facts in David Fischer's complaint and that Teresa Fischer's complaint lingered without an initial decision for more than year.

"The Fischers now put their trust in the jury system to compensate them for their losses and suffering and to send a message to Sentry that the good people of Wisconsin don’t accept discrimination against women and retaliation against those who try to protect them," Tutwiler stated.

Contact Alan Hovorka at 715-345-2252 or ahovorka@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ajhovorka.