Sexual Harassment Lawyer Blawg
A Virginia woman, “Ms. Smith” (a pseudonym), has filed an EEOC Charge alleging that General Dynamics NASSCO Norfolk failed to stop sexual harassment by her supervisor following her complaints, and went on to retaliate against her. Public court records now reflect that the supervisor has been criminally convicted of sexual battery of Ms. Smith, less than five months after she filed a police report.
In her EEOC Charge filed in June 2024, Ms. Smith alleges that from early in her employment as a firewatch at General Dynamics NASSCO Norfolk, her supervisor—the Firewatch Coordinator—subjected her to daily sexual harassment, which included sexual remarks, unwanted touching, and sexual come-ons. For example, the Coordinator asked to touch Ms. Smith’s body parts, asked her for sexual favors, and even kissed her face and grabbed her rear end and breasts. When she resisted his sexual advances, the Coordinator falsely told Ms. Smith’s higher-level supervisor that she had an “attitude.”
Ms. Smith’s Charge explains that she complained to her higher-level supervisor about the Coordinator’s harassment, but to no end: the harassment continued, including by the Coordinator falsely telling Ms. Smith’s coworker that Ms. Smith was willing to perform sexual favors at work. Ms. Smith was humiliated by his degrading remarks about her.
Ms. Smith continued to complain about the Coordinator’s harassment, but as she alleges in her Charge, NASSCO responded with retaliation—by among other things, refusing to separate the Coordinator from Ms. Smith while it claimed to be investigating her complaints. NASSCO allegedly went on to transfer Ms. Smith to less desirable work, and to attempt to give her a baseless discriminatory write-up, among other retaliatory consequences.
Public court records in the Commonwealth of Virginia reflect that on September 5, 2024, the Coordinator was criminally convicted of Sexual Battery (18.2-67.4), a Class 1 Misdemeanor, and received a six-month suspended sentence, with twelve months of probation. The conviction is presently on appeal. Despite his conviction, as of September 6, 2024, the time of this writing, NASSCO is continuing to employ the Coordinator.