Attorney Arykah A. Trabosh of Schorr & Associates files suit in Gloucester County. NJ.com has the story here. More to come.
Updated March 29, 2019.
Deanna Tyciak is an administrative assistant in Franklin Township, New Jersey’s public works department and is the department’s lone female employee. She has worked for the department since 2015, and in the years that she’s been there she has suffered constant and repeated sexual harassment and abuse at the hands of the department’s director. According to the Complaint, after repeatedly registering her complaints and getting no response or assistance, she has filed a lawsuit against both the director, Charles M. Bosco, and the township, accusing them of violating the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Bosco has also been charged with criminal sexual contact and official misconduct.
The list of offenses Bosco is accused of is shocking, and his alleged pursuit of Mrs. Tyciak was relentless. Though the most egregious offense reportedly happened when he forced her head down to his groin, forcing her face to “touch his penis on the outside of his clothing,” the Complaint (read the full complaint here) indicates that was far from the only abusive behavior he openly pursued. She claims that he repeatedly pressured her to have sex, indicating that her life at work would “be easier” if she complied, frequently grabbed her ponytail, calling it “a good holding knob,” and made lewd remarks about her in front of her male colleagues, indicating that he wanted to have sex with her. He ordered a camera to be installed above her desk in order to constantly watch her, and went so far as to urinate all over the walls, floors and fixtures of the department’s ladies room and then declare it “unisex” in order to prevent her from using it.
According to the Complaint, which you can read here, faced with this constant harassment Tyciak both directly addressed Bosco, asking him to stop, and solicited help from township officials, despite correctly predicting that they would offer no assistance in response to the two letters that she sent. In response to her rejection and complaints, Mr. Bosco retaliated in several ways: he called her “dumb blonde” and “bitch,” cut her hours and demoted her.
The lawsuit that Tyciak has filed under the rules of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, which prohibits “harassment including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual relations or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Under the law, Tyciak will be able to seek compensation for the damage that she suffered.
If you have been the victim of discrimination or harassment in the workplace, you may be entitled to pursue legal action. Contact us today to learn more about your rights and how we can help.