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Meter maid stripped of bra can sue city over co-workers
By J.M. Lawrence
Thursday, February 17, 2005
A Boston meter maid - whose boss was fired after he ripped off her bra in a city van - will get her day in court against the city.
A federal appeals panel yesterday overturned a district judge's order throwing out the case and said Christi Noviello deserves to argue that she endured a retaliatory hostile work environment from unsympathetic workers who branded her ``a rat.''
Noviello, who suffered burns last month in an unrelated incident when a West Roxbury man allegedly threw hot coffee in her face over a $55 ticket, claims she was ostracized by coworkers and supervisors for reporting Jose Ortiz.
:shock: Ortiz was fired within a week after Noviello reported he yanked off her bra on Sept. 11, 1999, hung it on the van's mirror and bellowed to a city employee on the street, ``Hey, Billy, come and smell this.'' :shock:
The appeals court ruled Noviello has no sex harassment case against the city over Ortiz since the city's response to the incident was ``prompt and effective.'' But she can challenge the city's handling of her coworkers.
Noviello claims one woman tried to set her up for disciplinary action by falsely claiming she threw a tampon, while another worker circulated a petition for her dismissal. A van driver ferrying meter maids to their posts intentionally drove off without her and she was ostracized at a holiday party where workers took up a collection for Ortiz, her suit alleges.
First filed in 2003, Noviello's lawsuit claims supervisors refused to intervene and seeks $200,000 in damages for emotional distress.
By J.M. Lawrence
Thursday, February 17, 2005
A Boston meter maid - whose boss was fired after he ripped off her bra in a city van - will get her day in court against the city.
A federal appeals panel yesterday overturned a district judge's order throwing out the case and said Christi Noviello deserves to argue that she endured a retaliatory hostile work environment from unsympathetic workers who branded her ``a rat.''
Noviello, who suffered burns last month in an unrelated incident when a West Roxbury man allegedly threw hot coffee in her face over a $55 ticket, claims she was ostracized by coworkers and supervisors for reporting Jose Ortiz.
:shock: Ortiz was fired within a week after Noviello reported he yanked off her bra on Sept. 11, 1999, hung it on the van's mirror and bellowed to a city employee on the street, ``Hey, Billy, come and smell this.'' :shock:
The appeals court ruled Noviello has no sex harassment case against the city over Ortiz since the city's response to the incident was ``prompt and effective.'' But she can challenge the city's handling of her coworkers.
Noviello claims one woman tried to set her up for disciplinary action by falsely claiming she threw a tampon, while another worker circulated a petition for her dismissal. A van driver ferrying meter maids to their posts intentionally drove off without her and she was ostracized at a holiday party where workers took up a collection for Ortiz, her suit alleges.
First filed in 2003, Noviello's lawsuit claims supervisors refused to intervene and seeks $200,000 in damages for emotional distress.
