An African-American lesbian sued the Parx Casino earlier this month, claiming that a hostile workplace made it difficult for her to do her job and eventually resulted in her dismissal.
“Michelle Doe,” a Philadelphia resident, filed a lawsuit in federal district court Dec. 7. She is seeking more than $150,000 in damages, including lost wages, punitive damages, compensation for pain and suffering and reasonable attorney’s fees. The suit also seeks a court order to require Parx to implement a company-wide LGBT anti-bias policy.
Doe was employed as a dealer at Parx, based in Bensalem, Bucks County, between December 2017 and August 2018. Coworkers allegedly ostracized her throughout her employment.
“[Doe] recalls that frequently during lunch and on breaks, throughout [Doe’s] employment, [Doe] would sit at a table isolated as nobody would join [Doe’s] table,” the lawsuit states.
Moreover, coworkers would refer to her in derogatory terms, including, “bitch,” “sir” and “baby.” One coworker told Doe she was “dirty” and had a “bald head,” according to the lawsuit.
Doe reported her concerns about working in a hostile environment to management. However, the mistreatment continued.
Andrew J. Kramer, an attorney for Parx, declined to comment. “I have checked with my client and since this case is in litigation they have no comment on the matter,” Kramer wrote in a Dec. 13 email.
Doe contends that on one occasion, she attempted to address the hostile environment at a staff meeting, but that a supervisor prevented her from speaking.
“When presented with an opportunity to have shown a commitment to non-discrimination, to have allowed [Doe] to address her co-employees together in a safe space in the way [Doe] felt comfortable, and to potentially resolve the issues of anti-gay or lesbian harassment by her co-employees, instead, [a supervisor] shut [Doe] down, and the hostile environment continued.”
“The harassment was severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of [Doe’s] work environment, and make it more difficult to do the job. [Parx] failed to provide prompt and appropriate action to prevent, correct, and remedy the hostile environment.”
On Aug. 12, Doe’s employment was suspended after she complained to management about a “negative interaction” with a patron. Details regarding the interaction aren’t included in the lawsuit. On Aug. 13, Doe’s employment was terminated.
Parx “used a negative interaction with a customer as a pretext to terminate [Doe’s] employment, and the real reason for [Doe’s] termination was [Doe’s] sexual orientation (lesbian), and/or others’ negative reactions to [Doe] being openly lesbian,” the lawsuit alleges. “A motivating factor in [Doe’s] discharge was the fact that [Doe’s] co-employees reacted poorly to [Doe] being openly lesbian.”
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. A jury trial composed of eight jurors has been requested.
Justin F. Robinette, an attorney for Doe, also declined to comment.