PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge has refused to dismiss a police officer's lawsuit alleging retaliation over another officer's sexual harassment complaint.
District Judge Jan E. DuBois denied the motion to dismiss a retaliation claim under TItle VII, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) and the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance (PFPO). The judge also granted the motion on all other counts, according to the July 3 memorandum filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Latasha Stevens was a police sergeant in the Philadelphia Police Department's 16th District. Officer Jessica Roseberry informed Stevens she was being sexually harassed by Sgt. Yusef Cooper in January 2016, and Stevens filed a complaint regarding the sexual harassment, according to court documents.
Stevens filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint with the Office of Professional Responsibility reporting the alleged harassment, according to court documents.
After filing the complaint, Stevens alleged that she was retaliated against by officers above her in rank, according to court documents. She claimed she was denied vacation time, despite having enough hours, and she was accused of violating district policies, according to court documents.
The defendants, which include the city of Philadelphia and officials in the police department, argued that Stevens failed to show a connection between the action taken against her and the sexual harassment complaint, according to court documents.
"The Court disagrees with defendants on this issue," DeBois wrote. "The facts as alleged in plaintiff’s First Amended Civil Action Complaint set forth a temporal proximity between the protected activity—filing a notice of an [Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)] complaint—and the alleged adverse employment action."
Prior to filing the complaint, Stevens had always received excellent reviews from her supervisors but received an unsatisfactory review after filing the complaint.
"Accordingly, the Court denies that part of defendants’ Motion seeking dismissal of plaintiff’s claims under Title VII, PHRA and PFPO that she received a negative performance review in retaliation for filing a notice of an EEO complaint," DuBois wrote.