‘Don’t you want to keep your job?’ Texas woman sexually assaulted at work, feds say
A Texas dispatcher was forced to have sex with a company owner at the risk of losing her job, according to federal authorities. She was one of two female employees mentioned in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“The allegations included not only verbal sexual harassment but also physical acts such as unwanted sexual touching and forced submission to sex as a condition of employment,” according to an Aug. 26 EEOC news release.
One year after the complaint was filed, Lone Star Ambulance — a critical care transportation service based in San Antonio — has agreed to several stipulations and a $90,000 payment to settle the lawsuit.
In settling, though, the company “denies that it or any of its employees harassed discriminated or retaliated in any way against (the women) or any other employees in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended,” according to court records.
The allegations
In the federal lawsuit filed Aug. 26, 2021, in the Western District of Texas, the EEOC alleged Lone Star Ambulance was sexually harassing employees since at least March 2018.
Prosecutors said one female dispatcher, who started her employment in April 2016, was “subjected to sexual harassment from the Executive Director (who is also an Owner).” He grabbed and kissed her, according to the complaint.
In March 2018, the director forced her to have sex with him even when she said “no,” according to court records. He’s accused of asking her twice, “How important is your job to you?”
A few months later, in June, prosecutors allege the woman was again forced to have sex with the man. He asked her “don’t you want to keep your job?”, according to the complaint.
She was assaulted by the director at least once more in March 2019, according to the lawsuit. And in May 2019, authorities said the director’s brother-in-law — the wheelchair supervisor — also sexually assaulted her.
She felt forced to resign “due to the intolerable working conditions,” authorities said.
The defense attorney representing Lone Star Ambulance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
The EEOC said a second woman, a wheelchair van driver, was also sexually harassed by the wheelchair supervisor after she started at the company in January 2019. This included telling her “she was going to have his baby,” according to court documents.
She was fired after rejecting sexual advances and complaining about the harassment, according to the EEOC news release.
The settlement
Lone Star Ambulance has agreed to pay $90,000, according to court records. Officials said $60,000 will be given to the dispatcher, and the remaining $30,000 is for the wheelchair van driver.
“In addition to the monetary relief, the decree requires Lone Star Ambulance to take steps to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment in its workplace, such as adopting a written policy against employment discrimination, hiring an independent outside monitor to investigate all complaints of sexual harassment and retaliation in the workplace, and annual training on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for all employees,” authorities said.
This story was originally published August 29, 2022 at 12:29 PM with the headline "‘Don’t you want to keep your job?’ Texas woman sexually assaulted at work, feds say."