An employee with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is suing the transit agency after superiors ignored complaints of sexual harassment, and retaliated after she voiced her concern.
Arlancia Williams, a 15-year veteran at WMATA, filed the lawsuit Aug. 11, alleging she faced sexual harassment, retaliation and gender discrimination. Williams says she received a promotion to become a bus service operations manager in 2013, and her new manager began harassing her. He allegedly started by giving her hugs, and then began to make negative comments about her husband, who also works at WMATA, reports The Washington Post.
He allegedly repeatedly harassed her over the phone. She claims to have taken her concerns to a high level supervisor who brushed them aside. Later, her superiors reassigned her to a different shift, allegedly as a retaliation.
“Since you can’t work under the stress from being harassed, maybe this isn’t the job for you,” the supervisor told Williams, according to The Washington Post.
WMATA officials have not responded for comment to the story, telling The Washington Post they cannot discuss pending litigation. Their spokesman reiterated that they have a zero tolerance policy at WMATA for any form of harassment or discrimination, reports WUSA9.
“It’s definitely a culture at [WMATA],” Williams told The Washington Post. “But I’d never experienced it like this.”
Williams’s lawsuit calls for officials at WMATA to establish specific procedures for reporting harassment and avoiding retaliations. She is also seeking $200,000 in damages.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.