A female employee at the Arizona State Mental Hospital was severely and pervasively harassed, and later retaliated against for reporting the harassment.
The victim, who was a security officer at the Arizona State Hospital, filed a lawsuit in 2011 that awarded her over $300,000, according to abc15.com. The settlement came after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, found the woman was subjected to a work environment including “offensive sexual remarks, sexual messages, pornographic text videos and aggressive physical contacts and gestures,” according to court documents.
The EEOC also found that the hospital retaliated against the victim for complaining by unfairly disciplining her, suspending her, giving her undesirable work assignments and eventually firing her, records show.
Some hospital employees responsible for investigating harassment were also implicated in the decision. Several faculty members, including the health department’s lead attorney, have been placed on administrative leave.
