Employment with an Aliquippa-based Bath Fitter franchise required membership in what was essentially "a cult," a woman alleged in a civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court today.

Jo A. Yochum, whose age and municipality of residence were not immediately available, started working in 2004 as a sales representative for a Bath Fitter franchise run by FJW Investment Inc., according to the complaint. She was required then to sign on to a training agreement with a firm called Partners Through People, the complaint continued, for which she would have to pay $90,000 through deductions from the commissions on her first $3 million in sales of products like one-day bathroom remodeling.

The training, though, was actually "religious proselytizing and indoctrination," the complaint said. Training materials "required trainees such as Yochum to reflect not on the nature and quality of the renovation materials to be installed by Bath Fitter, as one might expect, but on the nature and quality of 'Evil, Sin, Judgment Day, Hell, Guilt and Punishment, Deserve and free will,' " the complaint quoted.

Ms. Yochum remained with the company, and paid off her $90,000 training cost, but was still required to attend "break out sessions" of "one-on-one religious indoctrination and brain-washing," the complaint said. Meanwhile, new sales leads were disproportionately steered to new sales representatives who were still paying off their training costs, it said.

"She was consistently among the highest in revenue and consistently among the highest in sales," said her Downtown-based attorney, Scott Michael Hare. But she was branded as "an atheist" and cut off from new leads, and thereby actually or effectively fired, he said.

Mr. Hare said he represents three other former Bath Fitter sales representatives who will soon file similar cases in Common Pleas Court.

Ms. Yochum has sued Bath Fitter of Pittsburgh, FJW Investment, Partners Through People, Frank J. Witkowski, and other companies and people characterized as related through business ties.

Mr. Witkowski had no immediate comment.