LOGAN – A woman is suing Wal-mart after she claims she was sexually harassed by her supervisor and the store failed to take action.
Jason Turner, the assistant general manager of the Wal-mart store in Logan, was also named as a defendant in the suit.
Crystal Frye was employed by Wal-mart from December 2015 until May 2017 on the modification team during the night shift, according to a complaint filed Aug. 9 in Logan Circuit Court.
Frye claims she restocked merchandise on the night shift and Turner was her manager and supervisor.
In December 2016, Turner began making lewd remarks to the plaintiff and other women who worked on the night shift modification team and, at one point, propositioned them for group sex in exchange for payment of money and drugs, according to the suit.
Frye claims on numerous occasions, Turner proposed an arrangement wherein she would quit her job, engage in sex with him three times per week, take care of his kids and he would pay her to do so while he worked.
Turner would also repeatedly and persistently threaten Frye and the other women with write-ups and firing them as a show of his status and control over them, according to the suit.
Frye claims on April 27, she sought out a female dayshift manager named Marilyn and made a formal complaint against Turner for sexual harassment.
The following day, Frye was called in to speak with Marilyn about returning to work away from the same shift as turner and was told to show up on April 30, according to the suit.
Frye claims on April 30, she reported to work, but was unable to clock in and was informed she had been terminated.
The plaintiff spoke with Marilyn on May 12 to obtain proof of unemployment, which she was unable to obtain, according to the suit.
Frye claims she told Marilyn that she felt it was not fair that she was not allowed to work while management dealt with the sexual harassment claim and that Turner was allowed to continue to work.
Marilyn then scheduled Frye for a position as a cashier for the next two weeks, according to the suit.
Frye claims on May 23, she discovered that she was going to be working with Turner for the next scheduled shift on May 25, and she did not show up for work that day because the defendant failed to take prompt action regarding her sexual harassment allegations and was placing her back on the same schedule as Turner without ever addressing the complaint.
The defendants sexually harassed and discriminated against Frye, according to the suit. Their actions violated the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
Frye claims the defendants also violated the West Virginia Wage Payment and Collection Act for having her work two days without pay because she could not clock in to record her hours in the system.
Frye is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. She is being represented by Steven S. Wolfe of Wolfe, White & Associates.
Logan Circuit Court case number: 17-C-228
