Fayette woman files sexual harassment lawsuit against Donora company
A Fayette County woman has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former employer, claiming she was subjected to different types of harassment and retaliation.
Evette A. Cooper filed the suit against Retal PA LLC in Donora on Tuesday in federal court.
Retal PA LLC is headquartered in Lithuania, and Cooper started working for the company at its Donora location on Aug. 6, 2016, as the production and logistics specialist, her attorney Colleen Ramage Johnston wrote.
She was promoted to a managerial position that October and was allegedly the subject of unwelcoming and offensive sexual harassment by various employees.
According to the complaint, the harassment included her boss stating that female employees need to walk around the plant to keep the male employees awake, referring to jobs like cleaning bathrooms as “women work”, referring to female employees as “girls” and having a female employee go up a ladder so the male employees could look at her.
When a project manager and human resources manager from Lithuania visited the Donora site in October 2016, Cooper told them of the sexual harassment she witnessed, but the hostile work environment continued, Johnston claimed. The suit alleged an employee grabbed Cooper’s buttocks, and she and another female employee were given a box of chocolates depicting sexually explicit positions.
In January 2017, Cooper’s boss offered her a job as a warehouse manager with pay lower than other managers, the suit contended. Before Cooper could decline the position, the boss announced she would take the position, but then said a month later without Cooper present that the position “didn’t work out” and a decision was made to hire someone else who’s a “better fit”.
In February 2017, Cooper made a formal complaint of sexual harassment to the company’s human resources director in Lithuania. When the director met with Cooper, she was told that Lithuanian employees had no ill intent by the chocolates because that was a common gift in Lithuania, the suit contended.
Other complaints were not addressed, Johnston alleged.
Cooper was also warned to not cause conflict or Lithuanian employees may not return to Cooper’s work site or work with her, the suit indicated.
In July 2017, Cooper was given a written disciplinary action for insubordination and faced allegations she violated the Americans with Disabilities Act for commenting to a vendor that one of the company’s employees must be “bi-polar” by the way she was acting, according to the suit.
Cooper was demoted and prohibited from having contact with any vendors or suppliers, Johnston wrote, which lead to her tendering her resignation due to the sexually and retaliatory hostile work environment.
Cooper is seeking lost pay in the form of unlawfully withheld salary from her final paycheck, liquidated damages, declaratory and injunctive relief and legal costs.
A representative of Retal PA LLC was contacted for comment, but did not reply.