Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against the City of Philadelphia

On February 10, 2021, Ms. Sommer Miller filed a lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia. She filed this lawsuit not only against the city, but also against Sheriff Rochelle Bilal and Philadelphia’s Sheriff’s office. In this case, Ms. alleges that she was subject to sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation resulting in adverse employment actions.

Adverse employment actions are a type of tangible employment action. Legally, this means that Ms. Miller is alleging that she suffered some sort of negative employment consequence based on the Sheriff’s department’s actions.

Specifically, Ms. Miller alleges that:

• She and other female employees were told that they were not liked and had bad reputations.
• Ms. Miller advised the sheriff on multiple occasions that Chief of Staff, Wendell Reed, should be terminated for sexual harassment.
• The department retaliated against Ms. Miller for bringing sexual harassment allegations.
• Ms. Miller reported that the Director of Advertising stole from the department.
• In response, Ms. Miller was removed from managing the Real Estate department.
• Ms. Miller reported Covid-19 violations, which were not investigated.

It will be interesting to see how Ms. Miller’s case plays out in federal court. The allegations against the Sheriff’s department are those of which we commonly see in employment cases. If you are facing a similar situation at work, you should give The Lacy Employment Law Firm a call or schedule a consultation.