A female welder has filed a lawsuit against her former employer, claiming she lost her job after reporting sexual harassment.
Angie L. Ordonez filed suit against Dragon Products Ltd. on Feb. 9 in the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division.
According to the suit, Dragon Products is accused of intentionally discriminating against Ordonez in violation of Title VII by creating a sexually hostile work environment.
Ordonez states that she began working for the defendant as a welder in February 2011.
She claims that throughout her employment she endured sexually harassing comments by male co-workers. She claims she reported the comments to her supervisor but the comments persisted.
On June 3, she was called into the human resources department and question about the harassment. A few days later, Ordonez was admitted to the hospital and treated for "anxiety and depression from circumstances at work due to sexual harassment," according to the complaint. She was discharged after three days in the hospital.
Ordonez states that when she took the doctor's note to the defendant she was informed that she had been terminated on June 3, the day she reported the sexual harassment to the human resources department.
The defendant is accused of intentional discrimination against Ordonez, failing to exercise reasonable care to prevent and cure the allegations of sexual harassment, and for retaliating against Ordonez after she reported the harassment.
The plaintiff is asking for an award of damages for back pay and front pay, emotional pain and suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, economic losses, exemplary damages, attorney's fees and court costs.
Ordonez is represented by Kenneth W. Lewis and Stephen L. Townsend of Bush Lewis in Beaumont. A jury trial is requested.
U.S. District Judge Ron Clark is assigned to the case.
Case No. 1:12-cv-00062