EBENSBURG, Pa. - A former employee of the Cambria County Coroner's Office has filed a lawsuit against the county and the coroner's office, claiming she was retaliated against for filing a sexual harassment complaint against Coroner Jeff Lees.
Attorneys for Stacie Holsinger filed the suit in the U.S District Court of Western Pennsylvania Friday.
According to the complaint, Holsinger was hired by former county Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski on July 16, 2012, as the Executive Assistant to the Coroner.
The lawsuit said that she filed a sexual harassment complaint against 2015 Coroner-elect Jeff Lees on June 21, 2017.
Holsinger was placed on paid administrative leave June 23 to investigate her complaint and on June 29, Cambria County Human Resources Director Bryan Beppler sent her a letter, saying that her complaint was unsubstantiated, according to the suit.
When Holsinger returned to work July 5, the complaint said, her desk of the past five years was moved to another location and she was not permitted to have any communication with Lees unless it was for a death call.
Holsinger alleges that over the next few weeks, her workload was increased, the temperature in her office was constantly being lowered, locks were changed and she was not given a key, she no longer had access to emails and mail and the dress code was changed, prohibiting her from wearing colored nail polish, jewelry, heeled shoes, dresses and skirts.
According to the suit, Holsinger submitted her resignation Aug. 18, 20l7, two days after she received a written warning concerning an error she made for a July 21 death call.
Holsinger contends as a result of her filing the sexual harassment complaint against Lees, she was subject to a hostile work environment and discharged.
Holsinger said she suffered emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem and had to seek medical and physiological care and lost life's pleasures. The suit said Holsinger is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and court fees.
Cambria County Solicitor Bill Barbin said he has yet to review the suit and cannot comment at this time.
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