A 23-year-old single mother who was putting herself through college was employed by a social services organization and assigned to work at a location that primarily served as a day care facility for young children. Over the course of her employment, she was subjected to repeated sexual harassment by her supervisor, including unwanted physical contact, explicit and threatening comments, and two incidents of physical assault. After reporting the harassment to supervisors who failed to investigate or take meaningful action, she filed suit against her harasser, her supervisors, and her employer.
The client was a 23-year-old single mother who was putting herself through college. She was employed by a social services organization and assigned to work at a location in Jersey City that primarily served as a day care facility for young children. She was assigned to work as an assistant to her supervisor.
Initially, her supervisor made passes at her. He commented on her appearance, touched her buttocks and sides without her consent, and made inappropriate comments including statements that he wanted to "give her a test drive," that he loved "beautiful black women" like her, and that he was "the only man for her." She requested a transfer away from that location and was assigned to another family services center as a filing clerk for approximately one year.
Approximately one year after her transfer, she was informed she would be transferred back to the original location in a different position working with children, and was told she would not be working with her former supervisor again. Because she believed she would not be working with him and would be around other teachers and children, she accepted the transfer.
After approximately two months, she was advised that a driver had left the organization and that her supervisor had requested she become a driver. Though she questioned the placement, she was advised she would be working with a partner. When she returned to the original location, she was told she needed to retrieve the van keys from her supervisor's office and return them daily. On an almost daily basis, her supervisor continued making inappropriate comments when she retrieved and returned the keys, including that "men have needs," that he would like to "give her a ride when she was ready," and that "his wife didn't need to know."
After approximately six months in the driver position, her supervisor approached her from behind and rubbed against her with an erect penis. That same month, he instructed her to come into his office for additional training. Once there, he told her that he loved her and wanted to be her man, grabbed her breast, pulled down her shirt, and began to forcibly suck on her breast. When she shoved him away and told him to stop, he laughed and told her she liked it, claimed no one would believe her, and told her she would be let go from her job. He then placed money in her bra.
A few weeks later, her supervisor again directed her to his office, told her they could not "control the way they feel about someone," and attempted to kiss her. He aggressively sat next to her, placed his hand on her thigh, and physically restrained her from leaving. She pleaded to be allowed to leave to pick up her son. He then kissed her, reached under her shirt, pulled down her bra, and began to suck on her breast. She pushed him away and escaped the office.
Knowing she had to report what was happening and protect herself, she returned to his office the following day and recorded the meeting without his knowledge. During that meeting, he again caressed her back, attempted to kiss her, told her he was "a man with needs," stated he wanted her "on the side," placed a $20 bill in her bra, and told her his wife did not need to know. She subsequently informed a coworker she could not come in due to issues with her supervisor. When she reported the harassment to her supervisor's supervisor, the response was only to tell her to "do what she had to do." When she reported it to her own supervisor, the supervisor responded, "Oh, him again. We are well aware of the complaints against him," laughed, and made light of the complaints in a non-private setting with others walking in during the conversation. Her supervisor informed her that another female employee had previously filed a written complaint of sexual harassment against the same individual and implied no action had been taken due to the size of the organization's site. She was transferred to a new location, but none of her employers took action to investigate the allegations.