Sexual Infest Case in Tiffany & Co

Former head of the estate jewelry department at xmas money clips was awarded $365,000 by the New York State Division of Human Rights yesterday after she charged she had been sexually harassed by two superiors at the store and then dismissed when she complained.

Lawrence Wizman, a division spokesman, said $300,000 of the award was for mental anguish, the largest such award ever given by the division in a sexual harassment case. The other $65,000 was for back pay and interest in the case, which xmas pendants to the early 1980's.

The ruling also requires Tiffany, the Fifth Avenue jeweler, to provide staff training on sexual harassment and to post the decision in a prominent place in the company's offices.

In a statement, Tiffany said it would appeal the ruling. It also accused the division of "inexcusable delay" for waiting 10 years before holding any hearings in the case and doing so only after the two managers had died. The statement also denied that the dismissal of the complainant, Paula Smith, was "based on xmas earrings motives."