Drunk Boss Used Sex Talk To Torment Pregnant City Worker: Suit

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A city employee suffered months of sexual harassment from a drunken supervisor who said he wanted to "f--- the s--- out of her," then was forced to work outdoors while pregnant, and recovering from surgery, until she miscarried, a new lawsuit alleges.

Helen Hester, once a city park worker for the Department of Environmental Protections's Green Infrastructure Program, filed a civil suit against New York City in Brooklyn Federal Court Wednesday for treatment she received from a supervisor she identifies as Rich and the Department's lack of response, court records show.

Hester's suit details months of sexual harassment, DEP supervisors who ignored her pleas to be reassigned to another team, and the eventual loss of a child when her requests to work in an office were declined.

Neither Hester's attorneys, the New York City Law Department nor the DEP media office immediately replied to Patch's request for comment.

Rich, the supervisor of her Brooklyn team, began harassing Hester shortly after she began working with the DEP — which paid her $15.48 an hour for a 40-hour work week — in March 2018, her lawsuit claims.

The supervisor, known as "O.G." or "Original Gangster," reeked of alcohol, often showed up to work intoxicated and had the power to fire Hester at any time, the lawsuit says.

“Helen know what I wanna do to her," Rich allegedly told her in a work van, in front of her colleagues. "F--- the s--- out of her.”

Rich also once demanded she stop wearing a certain pair of jeans because they were too arousing, adding, “I won't be your trick, I'll be your daddy."

Hester immediately reported Rich's behavior to a Queens supervisor, named in the suit as Carlos, whom she hoped would transfer her out of Brooklyn, the suit says.

But Rich allegedly overheard her request, walked up to Carlos and said, “You think I'm giving up all this?" He then told Carlos he'd let Hester go only if he was provided with another “young lady,” the suit claims.

As the months passed, Hester continued to request transfers from various supervisors as Rich continued to torment her, and she finally was granted a spot on another Brooklyn team, the suit says.

But she still ran into Rich — who licked his lips, called her "sexy" and made comments about her "fat a--" — and his friends began calling Hester a “snitch,” taunting her with a song about what she'd done, according to the suit.

One supervisor allegedly told Hester, “the way he talks about you, I thought you had done it already.”

About three months after joining the DEP, Hester had emergency surgery at a city hospital and, on June 27, discovered she was pregnant, the lawsuit says

Hester returned to work on July 5 and asked to be moved from the field while she recovered from the surgery, but was told to go home instead, the suit says.

She told another supervisor about her health condition and pregnancy the following week and was told “if you're not able to work in the field, stay home," the suit claims.

Hester believed she would be fired if she didn't work in the field, so she went back, and on July 19, 2018, she suffered a miscarriage, the lawsuit says.

Hester retired from the DEP in September after contacting her union representative, filing a claim against Rich with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and once again having her pleas for a Queens transfer ignored, the suit says.

In February, Sean Hinds, an EEO investigator with the DEP, told Hester her complaint had been closed and that no further action was anticipated, court records show.

Hester's discrimination suit demands a jury trial and an unspecified amount for lost wages and damages for physical and mental injury allegedly caused by the DEP's practices.

Hester believes Rich still works for the DEP and no disciplinary action has been taken against him.