A California State University, San Bernardino, employee has filed a claim against the university alleging it has allowed sexual harassment, declined to press charges against the chief perpetrator of her harassment and retaliated against her when she reported she had been kissed against her will.
“This isn’t my 15 minutes of fame. This is my trauma and my life.”
Paige Griffin, who alleges sexual harassment
CSUSB has not replied to our request for comment.
“My employer unfortunately chooses not to recognize the gravity of what happened to me and why it is important to protect victims,” plaintiff Paige Griffin said in a press release. “This isn’t my 15 minutes of fame. This is my trauma and my life.”
In Griffin’s April 21 Department of Fair Employment and Housing claim she alleges she was an administrator support coordinator at CSUSB’s facilities planning and management department for six years, during which she was harassed three times. She was kissed against her will by another employee around March 1, she alleges in the claim.
After she reported the kiss, university officials vaguely said they would investigate the matter, then threatened her with disciplinary action for not immediately returning to work, she alleges.
When Griffin attempted to return to work, being in the same department caused her fear and anxiety, she says.
The university refused to place her in a safe workspace, to allow her to work remotely, or to transfer her to another department, she says.
Griffin has attempted to gain paid leave through filing under Title XI, a Workers Compensation claim and disability claim, but CSUSB declined all attempts, and instead, the university placed Griffin on unpaid leave, she says.
She says her understanding is that university police have decided not to press charges against the accused.
Due to their actions, the university violated Government Code Section 12940(a), which prohibits discrimination based on sex, Griffin claims.
Griffin’s lawyer, Joe Richardson of McCune Wright Arevalo*, believes the accused party is on paid leave.
“Had our client not complained, she would still be at work every day earning a check. So, she is effectively penalized for speaking up. Similarly situated people are more likely to look at Ms. Griffin’s situation and stay silent,” Richardson said in a release.
Read the DFEH complaint here.
If a co-worker kissed you against your will, would you report it?
*McCune Wright Arevalo provides funding for Follow Our Courts.
