HUNTINGTON – An Ohio woman is suing the Huntington Museum of Art alleging a hostile work environment and discrimination.
Katherine Fox began working as a museum educator in 1999 for the defendant and, as part of that position, she established the Saturday Kids Art and After School art programs, developed art education programs for children and their families and also hired and trained teachers, according to a complaint filed Feb. 20 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Fox was promoted to director of education in 2002 and worked for 16 more years overseeing studio classes, summer camps, museum tours and other programs, according to the suit. She claims she always received positive appraisals for her work and did not receive any warnings or negative critiques for her performance.
Fox claims she had concerns with an employee beginning in late 2017 and timely reported her concerns to the executive director. Fox claims the employee refused to communicate with her and would not fulfill his work responsibilities.
The executive director suggested bi-monthly meetings instead of monthly meetings, but the extra meetings didn't help and the employee refused to speak during the meetings.
Fox claims when she performed the employee's performance review on July 27, 2018, and raised concerns with him regarding his failure to communicate and participate as a team player, which were both parts of his job description.
When Cox met with the executive director and the human resources director on July 31, 2018, she was given a reprimand letter that said she'd had "inappropriate contact" with the employee, which was completely false, according to the suit.
Fox claims she was shocked when she received the letter but signed the letter because she was told by the executive director that not doing so could put the entire museum and programs in jeopardy.
Fox claims she was given no choice but to resign from her employment on Aug. 7, 2018, which caused her financial losses and emotional distress.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants created a hostile work environment and discriminated against her based on her age and sex.
Fox is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. She is represented by Hoyt Glazer of the Law Office of Hoyt Glazer in Huntington.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 3:20-cv-00142