HOUSTON – A Richmond woman asserts the Texas Department of Agriculture mistreated her for seeking accommodations for her medical condition purportedly caused by mold.
Recent Harris County District Court records show that Anna Williams-Briggs filed a lawsuit against the state agency in the Harris County 61st District Court on Aug. 17.
Formerly employed in the defendant’s Food and Nutrition Division, Williams-Briggs states that she “began to suffer severe allergic reactions due to the poor indoor air quality shortly after she was hired at the beginning of last year.
The TDA gave her time off from work to see a physician. She was reportedly diagnosed with “an upper respiratory infection and swelling of the eyes, throat, and inner ear pain resulting from consistent exposure to mold.”
Williams-Briggs further claims that her immediate supervisors did not promptly grant her request for an alternate workspace, eventually learning that her office building “had been previously flooded and had not properly remediated.”
“She learned that since her office was located in the basement, the floodwaters remained in her office for a long period,” the 6-page suit says.
It adds that a mold test returned positive.
The plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to a hostile work environment as the TDA continued to decline her requests in relation to her condition.
“Due to the lack of support, deceptive communication and hostile work environment, the plaintiff was forced to resign from her position in order to recover from her health issues,” the original petition says.
Consequently, Williams-Briggs seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Shelly M. Davis-Smith of The Davis Law Firm in Houston is representing the plaintiff.
Harris County 61st District Court Case No. 2018-55789