CHARLESTON – A former West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources employee says she was sexually harassed by a co-worker.
Rose A. Ables filed her complaint December 19 in Kanawha Circuit Court against the DHHR and Dereck Palmer.
According to the complaint, Ables worked as a health service worker at the DHHR’s William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston. In August 2022, she says Palmer was hired as a housekeeper.
About one month later, she says Palmer began making inappropriate comments to her, such as telling her she was “chunky” and that he liked that because there was “more cushion for the pushing,” asking for her phone number and to hang out with her and saying he could pleasure her in ways her boyfriend couldn’t.
When she told Palmer his comments were inappropriate and made her uncomfortable, she says his actions escalated. She says he began winking at her and staking her through the workplace. He began meeting her at the nurses’ station and tried to walk with her to her car.
On September 29, 2022, Ables says she reported Palmer’s actions to nurse manager Ida Bowman, who told her to report it to DHHR Human Resources Director Cecil Pritt and to complete a workplace harassment complaint form.
She says the DHHR failed to take prompt and corrective action.
On October 19, 2022, she says Palmer against stalked her when he followed her to a nurse’s station. She says his actions terrified her, and she sought help from another co-worker who told her to lock herself in a restroom until Palmer was gone.
The next day, Ables met with Pritt again to report Palmer. Pritt told her he couldn’t do anything until she went to local authorities to get a protective order.
A week later, she emailed Pritt and said she didn’t think the hospital took sexual harassment seriously and was putting employees and patients at risk by allowing Palmer to work there.
In addition to allowing Palmer to continue to work, Ables says the DHHR retaliated against her by initiating a shame Adult Protective Services investigation against her in January 2023 and suspending her without pay during the investigation.
When she returned to work, Ables learned Palmer still was working on her unit on the same shift. She says Palmer also began referring to her as a “bitch” to co-workers.
She says DHHR continued to retaliate against her by assigning her undesired work assignments including more “hall walks” than co-workers.
In July 2023, Ables says the DHHR told her it was terminating her contract effective September 22. She says the termination was retaliatory for her reports of sexual harassment.
Ables accuses the defendants of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment, harassment and retaliation as well as negligent hiring, retention and supervision. She says she suffered loss of dignity, embarrassment, humiliation, aggravation and emotional distress as well as lost wages and benefits. She seeks compensatory, general and punitive damages as well as pre- and post-judgment interests, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
She is being represented by Michael P. Addair of Addair Entsminger in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Senior Status Judge Jim Rowe.
Addair did not return messages seeking comment on the case.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-1105
