OFF BEAT: Ashley Madison employee says typing fake profiles led to injury

A website for married people seeking adulterous affairs could use a workers compensation exclusive remedy defense.

Ashley Madison, the website with the tagline “Life is short. Have an affair,” is being sued by a woman seeking $20 million dollars for her claim that typing up fake female profiles meant to lure men to the site left her disabled.

The plaintiff, Doriana Silva, is a Brazilian immigrant living in Toronto who claims Ashley Madison hired her to help launch a Portuguese-language version of the website in exchange for a $34,000 salary and benefits, according to published reports.

Her job called for creating 1,000 fake female profiles which required an enormous amount of keyboarding that led to severe wrist and forearm pain, those reports state. The pain allegedly has left her unable to work.

Her lawsuit filed in Canada allegedly states that she has not been provided workers comp insurance and that her medical treatment costs are mounting.

Workers comp insurance limits an employer’s liability and is typically the “exclusive remedy” for injured workers, meaning they can’t sue their employers.

In this case, however, Ms. Silva’s attorney reportedly said his client is seeking a portion of money earned from the profiles she created.