City Harassment

A local woman and former city employee is hoping that her case that she filed for wrongful termination will soon be resolved. People get terminated every day from various jobs, but in this particular case, this is her second termination. The woman was an employee of Monroe Transit, had a good record, and was well-liked by everyone. She says that one manager may have wanted to "like her a little more" than what was comfortable to her. She shared that incidents would happen while she was on her job, and the male manager would allegedly "find ways" to be in her company, which was something she never wanted. She said things got to the point where she told him in a respectable way that she didn't have or want romantic relationships with co-workers. She was first fired in 2015 following an alleged incident with a transit rider where a female manager tried to get her to admit that she was wrong. This incident was what allegedly began the case to get rid of her. The person with whom the alleged ticket incident occurred was found not to have filed a complaint with Monroe Transit, yet didn't stop management from instituting further proceedings against her. After going through the grievance process, she got her job back. In an agreement with the city, the woman "had" to sign a stipulation in the agreement that she "would not sue" the city in the future for things "before or after if any situation" would arise between her and the city. It would not be long before "a situation" did arise. She was placed on administrative leave by Transit managers in 2019, and a few weeks later, she was once again terminated, this time because of an alleged pay issue. She was hopeful and felt things would be resolved but believed that it was through the efforts of several Transit managers and the city's legal department that she was terminated a second time. Not only did a male transit manager make things uncomfortable for the woman, but a female Transit manager also allegedly harassed her. She found herself working in a position where she was constantly under stressful working conditions. She believes that she was retaliated against because she was a witness in a successful sexual harassment suit against the city, as she was able to give compelling evidence to support the claimant's case. She was also a witness in another case involving a former transit driver who was terminated because that driver alleged use of "obscene" language in the presence of riders at the bus terminal. At the time of the investigation, it was revealed that other transit drivers use obscene language at the terminal and in the presence of passengers while operating their buses. She even alleged that the two managers that got her fired have used obscene language but were never reprimanded.

The union that represented the woman is still on the case and is hopeful that a resolution can be reached soon. She is also hoping to have an audience with Mayor Friday Ellis, with whom she has shared a written statement of the incidents. She is hopeful that her union can further intervene. She is currently taking several medications for depression/stress from having to go through her ordeal. In the end, she hopes she can go back to the job she enjoys and work in peace with harassment. She believes that the city can end her ordeal if it wants.

Photo Monroe Transit