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Employee for Non-profit Files $2 Million Sexual Harassment Suit
Queens, NY: A woman filed a $2 million sexual harassment suit on March 20 against her employer that alleges she was touched inappropriately by her supervisor and that he made her work life miserable for her after she had accused him of the action.
The woman, Cynthia Spence-Green, has done work for Queens Centers for Progress since 1989 in various group homes. The man that she accuses of making sexual advances to her is Daniel Obaseki, her supervisor. In addition to the touching, she also alleges that he made sexual remarks and innuendos toward her, according to the lawsuit.
"She claims that Obaseki would call himself her husband and would visit one of the group homes that she was working in at night in order to be with her. The executive director of the Bellerose non-profit, Charles Houston, has stated publicly that he was not aware a lawsuit had been filed, but that Spence-Green had made similar allegations a year before, but they were thrown out by the State Division of Human Rights. Houston has said that the claims have no merit because they had conducted a very thorough investigation into her claims, but no evidence of sexual harassment was ever found.
 The attorney for Spence-Green, Nadira Stewart, says that the plaintiff continues to work for the non-profit although the lawsuit is ongoing. Stewart says that Spence-Green decided to continue her work because she has a connection with her patients. However, Stewart has disputed the claims by Houston that the earlier complaints that were filed with the State Division of Human Rights were thrown out. Stewart says that Spence-Green removed the complaint in order to file it in federal court.
Stewart alleges that the investigation that was conducted by Queens Centers for Progress was just done a few months ago when several women had left the non-profit. Other females allegedly said they were harassed by Obaseki and were forced to resign, were disciplined, or fired if they did not obey his demands. Stewart has made claims that as many as six women were harassed.
The suit also states that Queens Centers for Progress did not adequately respond to the complaints that Spence-Green had made regarding sexual harassment. A night security guard was hired to patrol the group home in which she worked, but nothing was done to resolve the security issue that was happening internally, according to the lawsuit.
Spence-Green had been promoted to the night position that she was working when Obaseki allegedly came to visit her in order to be with her. In 2006, she resigned the position due to the continuous sexual harassment. She was later demoted to the position that she held when she had began working for the nonprofit in 1989, which was direct care worker.
She says in the lawsuit that Obaseki told her that her life would be easier if she would just submit to his requests for a sexual relationship. After she says she complained and nothing was done, she is charging that the complaint procedure at Queens Centers for Progress is unreasonable and is not equipped to solve such issues as sexual harassment.
Spence-Green is seeking $2 million in punitive damages, back pay for her demotion, and attorney fees.
By Ginger Gillenwater
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