Jefferson Hills sex discrimination suit to proceed
By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com
A former Jefferson Hills employee suing the borough claiming she was harassed and discriminated against by former and current council members is preparing for the first round of court-supervised mediation sessions next month.
Tricia Levander, who served as Jefferson Hills borough manager from July 2016 to May 2018, filed the suit with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in December alleging she was the target of illegal retaliation, sex discrimination and sexual harassment.
The first mediation session is scheduled for June 10.
In a Charge of Discrimination dated July 9, 2018, filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and cross-filed with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Levander claims she was placed on a paid leave of absence May 1, 2018, by the borough “to sort through things.”
In a letter dated May 22, 2018, Levander claimed that during an April 4 executive session she was “berated” by then-council member Christopher King and that current councilman Francis Sockman told her on numerous occasions that “women cannot manage other women” because women resent each other and do not respect women in higher positions, the complaint states.
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