SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – Fieger Law filed a lawsuit Friday against William Beaumont Hospital and connected talent agencies on behalf of a Beaumont employee who was allegedly sexually harassed by a Beaumont executive in 2019.
The sexual harassment lawsuit claims that Beaumont -- along with Crossfire Managed Services, LLC and Med-National Staffing Solutions, Inc. -- neglected to investigate reports of sexual harassment by the hospital’s Director of Environmental Services Gerald Lynch.
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Represented by Fieger Law, Delmita Dickey of Wayne County claims that Lynch first initiated unsolicited touching and “conduct of a sexual nature” during her interview for a housekeeping position at Beaumont Royal Oak on April 1, 2019. The interview and employment were coordinated by Crossfire and Med-National.
The lawsuit claims that Lynch initiated a “quid pro quo” harassment during the interview, offering to extend employment to Dickey in return for sexual favors.
Immediately following the interview Dickey allegedly received 47 “unsolicited sexually harassing text messages” from Lynch, in which he sent and requested inappropriate photos and asked her to perform sexual behaviors.
Dickey allegedly notified Lynch that his advances were not welcome and asked him to stop, but Lynch cited their “quid pro quo” stating that he would end her employment if his sexual advances were not met, the lawsuit states.
Dickey began work on April 5, 2019, and notified her Crossfire/Med-National recruiter about the director’s sexual harassment on the same day. The recruiter allegedly told Dickey that the company is “well aware” of Lynch’s behaviors and many other women either quit or lost their jobs due to his sexual harassment.
Beaumont and the staffing agencies allegedly told Dickey that she could not return to work under these conditions after notifying her recruiter of Lynch’s behavior. During this time Dickey sent two sexual harassment complaints to Crossfire and Med-National, with one including a log of phone calls and text messages from Lynch.
The lawsuit claims that the staffing agencies failed to process the complaints submitted by Dickey and allowed a hostile work environment to continue. According to the lawsuit the staffing agencies allegedly “attempted to coerce (Dickey) to withdraw her sexual harassment complaint” and refused to allow her to return to work until she did.
The Wayne County woman was allowed to return to work at Beaumont on April 16 and was “constructively discharged” on April 24, 2019 officials said. “As a result of the defendants’ treatment” Dickey has sought psychotherapy and suffers from panic attacks and depression, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit aims to ensure Beaumont and the staffing agencies provide a “safe, non-discriminatory work environment” for employees and “seize their discriminatory conduct.” The lawsuit also hopes to award Dickey wages lost during the time she was not allowed to work, in addition to various other damages.
A representative from Beaumont told Local 4 Lynch is no longer employed by the hospital and released the following statement regarding the lawsuit:
“When Beaumont was first made aware of these allegations more than a year ago, we immediately responded and sought to investigate. We take all allegations regarding sexual harassment seriously and are committed to providing a safe, non-discriminatory workplace for all staff. Beaumont has not yet been served with the lawsuit.”