The notification was sent via email to adult industry companies currently under contract with UMA, informing them that they are no longer honoring new adult collection claims as a result of a new employee protection policy.
"We are no longer accepting claims from this industry," the email stated. "Because of the many people involved in handling an account, it conflicts with our corporate sexual harassment policy."
UMA attributes its decision to a variety of complaints received from employees who felt uncomfortable handling files and transcription materials related to adult entertainment companies.
According to Rhonda Miller, a sales spokesperson for UMA, certain adult company names and URLs were upsetting UMA employees.
Miller told XBiz that her company's decision not to work with the adult industry anymore was in keeping with its harassment policy, and while only a few employees had so far complained, UMA was looking after its own interests at this time.
Miller told XBiz that no sexual harassment lawsuits have yet been filed.
"Companies get sued for just about everything these days by their employees," Miller said, although she would not give any specifics about UMA's prior history.
When asked how many adult companies UMA represented, Miller would not say, although she said that the company was currently reviewing its records.
"This is the stand UMA has taken at this time," Miller told XBiz, adding that most adult industry claims had not amounted to much anyway.
"Most of them were 'uncollectible' because the debtors were deviant and generally had no intention of ever paying their bills in the first place," Miller said.
Founded in 1917, UMA deals with accounts receivable and commercial collection through a number of affiliate organizations, including The Commercial Collection Agency of America. For each client, UMA processes a maximum of 100 claims every two years and accepts either a pre-pay on the number of collections, or a 35 percent commission on all recovered funds.
