ST. LOUIS — A former employee is suing Walker Products alleging a hostile work environment and wrongful termination.
Taylor Thurmond initiated her employment with the defendant around April 5, 2021, assuming the role of a product analyst, according to a complaint filed Nov. 22 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Thurmond claims in June 2021, the defendant hired Steven Ramon, who proceeded to subject Thurmond to repeated inappropriate and unwelcome sexual comments.
Despite Thurmond rejecting Ramon's advances and reporting the harassment to her manager, Lisa Montgomery, the situation escalated into retaliation, according to the suit.
Thurmond claims Ramon displayed rude, aggressive, and antagonistic behavior toward her, creating an abusive and hostile work environment.
Despite reporting the ongoing issues to Montgomery and requesting a meeting involving human resources, upper management, Ramon and herself, no such meeting occurred, according to the suit.
Thurmond claims instead, the defendant began retaliating against her, issuing baseless write-ups and penalizing her on evaluations, particularly concerning her interactions with Ramon.
On Oct. 11, 2021, Thurmond faced a three-day suspension based on pretextual reasons, which she contends was further retaliation for her complaints, according to the suit.
Thurmond claims during a meeting related to her suspension, she discovered that Montgomery had not reported her sexual harassment complaints to Human Resources.
In response to Thurmond filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding the hostile work environment and retaliation, the defendant promptly terminated her employment on the same day, according to the suit.
Thurmond is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is represented by Michael J. Gras of the Law Office of Michael J. Gras in St. Louis
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri case number: 4:23-cv-01498