MORGANTOWN – Another lawsuit has been filed related to the Monongalia County 911 center, this one alleging “a culture of sexual harassment and hostility toward females” by supervisors.
Alexandra Kief filed her complaint January 20 in Monongalia Circuit Court against the Monongalia County Commission, which operates and funds the Monongalia Emergency Centralized Communications Agency, better known as MECCA.
According to her complaint, Kief worked for MECCA for two years. She details some of the harassment she says she endured and heard during her time there.
Kief says an unnamed supervisor spoke of female 911 callers in a derogatory and demeaning manner at times. That includes one incident when she and other employees heard him answer a call about an alleged rape when he said, “I hope that bitch got raped. She deserved it.”
She says this supervisor also spoke regularly in front of Kief and others about sexual relations with his girlfriend. She says she requested a shift change to avoid working with this supervisor.
Kief says Assistant Director Bradley Wilson contributed to the environment as well. She says he boasted about someone could discover “all the porn he had been watching” on his HBO search history. He also was overheard saying he evaluated new hires on their age and appearance.
Kief says she was one of several MECCA employees who filed a complaint regarding bullying of an openly gay coworker by supervisors. Kief says she also went to a county commissioner to relay that she didn’t think her concerns were taken seriously or handled properly.
After that, Kief says Director James Smith, Wilson and Deputy Director Harold Sperringer pulled her into a closed-door meeting. She says she was asked repeatedly if she understood the chain of command and was reminded that West Virginia is an “at-will” state.
Then, she says supervisors were called into a meeting and told shift bids were canceled. Kief was moved back to the shift ran by the supervisor she identified as a sexual harasser.
“Fearful of the constant threat of termination and frustration at the lack of administrative support following her claim of sexual harassment and mistreatment of coworkers, Ms. Kief voluntarily left her employment at MECCA,” her complaint states.
Kief resigned May 3, 2021. She also says MECCA withheld her final paycheck, saying she needed to pay $200 for going over her vacation time before she earned the pay.
“Kief was never given the option of having the $200 deducted from her last pay although other employees had that option,” the complaint states. “The paycheck owed to Ms. Kief is approximately $1,100. … Kief still has not received her final paycheck.”
Kief accuses the defendant of violating the West Virginia Whistle-Blower Law, sexual harassment and hostile work environment, constructive discharge and violation of the state Wage Payment and Collections Act.
She seeks compensatory damages, including two times the amount of her wages that still are unpaid, plus interest. She also seeks court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
Kief’s complaint echoes some issues mentioned in a similar lawsuit filed last month. Michelle Riggleman says she was wrongfully terminated from MECCA after she looked into filing a grievance against her supervisors.
Like Riggleman, Kief is being represented by Teresa Toriseva, Josh Miller and Michael Kuhn of Toriseva Law in Wheeling.
