A Mercer County Community College employee claims in court papers she has been sexually harassed by a top vice president at the school.A Mercer County Community College employee has filed a lawsuit against the school and a top executive, claiming she has been sexually harassed for more than five years and that her complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
Claffey did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment. A college spokesman did not immediately return a call and an email seeking comment.In 2020, the college changed its organizational chart and Claffey became the woman’s direct supervisor, according to court papers. The woman claims Claffey frequently leered at and ogled her, stood over her and stared down her shirt “into her cleavage,” smirked at her with “wide eyes filled with lust,” and undressed the woman with his eyes, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit claims that after the woman reported the harassment to human resources staff, they issued a no-contact order between Claffey and the woman. But the order was impossible to enforce because Claffey remained on as the woman’s direct supervisor, the lawsuit alleges. “By changing the expression, defendant Claffey attempted to cover his tracks and make his responses appear less flirtatious and promiscuous due to the ongoing HR investigation,” the suit says.
The lawsuit claims the HR department eventually confirmed the woman’s claims of sexual harassment but declined to tell her what remedial measures, if any, had been taken. Claffey continues to roam the campus and the woman says in the suit she continues to “suffer from emotional distress and financial harm.”