Lawsuit claims Harris Co. woman fired for resisting supervisor's advances

HOUSTON - A Harris County woman is suing First American Home Buyers Protection Corp. after she was reportedly fired for missing a meeting.

Macy Alexis Pedregon filed suit against her former employer in Harris County District Court on Dec. 28, 2012. The Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas received the case on March 1.

According to the suit, First American hired Pedregon in April 1999 and she was a field service manager at the time of the events in question.

Pedregon alleges her termination was a cover for a supervisor retaliating against her for resisting his sexual advances.

The plaintiff admits she and Mike Milton "had a consensual intimate relationship" between 2004 and 2006, which she ended before Milton became her supervisor in 2007, the original petition says.

After assuming the role of Pedregon's superior, according to the suit, Milton "continued to make advances toward her as well as asked her out for drinks and social activities after working hours" to which the complainant declined.

"From 2007 on, Pedregon was subjected to retaliation and harassment by Milton, which became more severe the more she turned him down or ignored his advances," court documents say.

They further show that Milton, who is not a defendant in the case, purportedly disciplined the plaintiff "for being unprofessional" after she introduced him and other managers to her boyfriend at a March 2011 company meeting in Las Vegas.

The complainant adds she verbally committed to relocating with her job to Phoenix in late January 2012 only for Milton to dismiss her "on the false grounds that she missed a meeting."

"The plaintiff Macy Alexis Pedregon was sexually harassed, discriminated against based on her gender and retaliated against and subjected to a hostile work environment in violation of Texas state laws against discrimination," the suit says.

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Steven E. Petrou of Houston is representing Pedregon.

Case No. 4:13-CV-555