HOUSTON – Lawyers at Sanford Heisler Sharp, one of the nation’s leading civil rights law firms, are ready to take on Schlumberger Technology after beating back another attempt by the oil and gas company to obtain summary judgment in a case alleging it discriminated against, sexually harassed, and retaliated against a former female engineer who worked on oil rigs, a press release states.
Sanford Heisler Sharp attorneys Michael Palmer, Carolin Guentert, and Nicole Wiitala are representing Jessica Cheatham in the lawsuit, along with co-counsel Todd Slobin from Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP. The case is in the U.S. District Court for Southern Texas.
“We welcome the court’s action in squelching Schlumberger’s most recent attempt to avoid responsibility for the discrimination, harassment, and retaliation perpetrated by its employees, human resources, and managers against Jessica Cheatham,” said Palmer. “The serious allegations brought by Jessica definitely raise triable issues that deserve a fair hearing by a federal jury. And that’s what’s going to happen now that the judge has quashed Schlumberger’s most recent summary judgment.
The case, Jessica Cheatham v. Schlumberger Technology Corporation, No. 4:20-CV-02193, will be set for trial in Houston with Judge Kenneth Hoyt presiding. Brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Cheatham seeks millions of dollars in damages, including back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and legal costs.
“Jessica endured appalling behavior and verbal harassment from many of her colleagues at Schlumberger,” said Guentert. “Although she promptly reported these experiences to the company’s Human Resources department, her concerns were minimized and ignored. She was told by an HR official to expect this kind of behavior because she was in a ‘male industry.’ Worse, after she reported the discrimination and harassment to HR, the discriminatory behavior and harassment continued and, in fact, escalated into other forms of retaliation.”
Cheatham alleges that after she told Human Resources about the discrimination and harassment to which she was repeatedly subjected, Schlumberger failed to staff her on any oil rig. She further asserts that one of her managers complained that she was “complicated to deal with” because “she uses the female card a lot,” and “everyone knows we are [i]n a male dominated environment.”
According to court records, not only did Schlumberger prevent Cheatham from obtaining a promotion, it pressured her to accept a demotion that would have required her to move to Alaska, after which she felt compelled to resign from the company.
“After Ms. Cheatham reported sexual harassment and gender discrimination, Schlumberger retaliated by attempting to demote her,” said Wiitala. “She is looking forward to trial and hopeful that her case will help to improve the working conditions for all women in the male-dominated oil and gas industry.”