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United Airlines worker says she complained about sexual harassment. Managers then forced her to move a 300lb dead body
When Chantel Matthews showed up on November 1, 2022 for her first day of training as a ramp agent at Newark Liberty International Airport, her new supervisor greeted her by saying, 'Welcome to United. You are fine as hell. Please complete your employee profile at any computer desk,' according to a newly filed federal lawsuit obtained by The Independent.
Matthews, 41, felt 'stunned and extremely uncomfortable' by the supervisor's wildly inappropriate remark, but continued about the onboarding process, her complaint states.
Later that day, the supervisor approached Matthews, whose job description involved loading and unloading baggage and cargo, guiding planes to the terminal and performing other crucial tasks on the tarmac, and inquired if she needed any help completing her tasks, the complaint goes on.
'By the way, do you model?' he asked, according to the complaint, which says Matthews 'rebuffed' his inappropriate comment and replied, 'I'm fine, thanks. I got it from here.'
The next day, Matthews was surprised to find an unsolicited text from the supervisor, who had apparently gotten her cell number from her personnel file, asking her to send him her Instagram profile, the complaint continues. The filing says she ignored the request, hoping this would indicate to the supervisor that she wasn't interested in a romantic relationship.
However, when she again reported to work, the supervisor allegedly said, 'Good morning, Ms. Matthews. You look very nice today. Your body is banging.'
Matthews' supervisor then asked her out on a date, which she declined, according to the complaint. That evening, the supervisor again texted Matthews, asking 'what kind of men [she] was interested in,' the complaint contends. Matthews did not respond, prompting the supervisor to approach Matthews the following day at work, asking, 'So, Ms. Matthews, you didn't see my text last night with your sexy self?'
Matthews asked the supervisor not to speak to her this way, according to the complaint. However, it alleges, he did not stop.
'Shortly thereafter, [the supervisor] approached [Matthews] at her desk saying, 'You know I want you, right?'' the complaint states. It says he asked what 'type of chemistry and energy' she wanted in a man, texted her a request that she upload a photo of him as her phone's screensaver 'for motivation,' and messaged her late that night to inquire, 'How long have you been modeling? Can you talk?' At 10:40 pm, the supervisor attempted to FaceTime with Matthews, but she did not answer, according to the complaint.
At this point, the supervisor started to get the hint, the complaint says.
On November 4, 2022, three days after she began working for United, Matthews showed up for her shift at Newark to find the supervisor, incensed, for 'refusing his sexual advances,' the complaint asserts.
'By way of example only, despite wearing the same navy-blue plants and black shoes that she had worn every day prior, [Matthews' supervisor] shouted…, 'MS. MATTHEWS, YOU ARE OUT OF COLOR CODE!'' according to the complaint.
When Matthews pushed back, telling the supervisor that she was wearing 'the exact same navy-blue pants [and] black shoes… I wore yesterday,' he allegedly replied, 'Don't worry about it. I'm simply going to report you.'
The complaint says Matthews told the supervisor that she was instead going to report him for harassment, to which he shot back, 'Ms. Matthews, you can try. S**t is not going to happen to me. I have been with United for 19 years.'
Undeterred, Matthews contacted both the recruitment agency that connected her with the United job, as well as United's HR department, which instructed her to submit a written statement about what had happened, according to the complaint.
With just one week on the job, Matthews suddenly found her coworkers turning against her, the complaint states. Still, it says she successfully passed her training and began her work in the field.
On November 16, 2022, roughly two weeks after she started, Matthews was abruptly reassigned from the ramp to the United's Newark Liberty command center. This, according to the complaint, was retaliation for going to HR.
Upon reporting to the command center, Matthews was introduced to her new team leader, who immediately instructed her 'to remove a 300-pound dead body from one of… United's planes,' the complaint states.
Matthews 'attempted to move the 300-pound dead body,' the complaint says. 'However, [she] was not able to move the body due to its weight.'
The team leader 'threatened [Matthews] that she would be terminated if she was not able to perform her job duties, namely moving the 300-pound dead body,' according to the complaint. In response, it says Matthews immediately went to a supervisor to 'explain that she was incapable of moving the heavy dead body on her own.'
'Similarly, [the supervisor] threatened that if [Matthews] could not perform her duties, namely moving the 300-pound dead body, [she] would be sent home,' the complaint alleges. 'As such, [Matthews] again attempted to move the body which caused her to fall and scream out in pain.'
Matthews was taken to United's medical facility, where she was diagnosed with 'severe neck and shoulder muscle strains,' and prescribed a muscle relaxant, according to the complaint. The doctor there placed Matthews on light duty, and she would spend the next several months in physical therapy, it says.
In March 2023, a United official emailed Matthews to say that she had reached the maximum allowable time for being on light duty, and told her to file for workers' comp instead of returning to work, the complaint states.
The following month, a rep from United's HR department, which had launched an investigation into Matthews' harassment claims, contacted her to say that her supervisor had been found in violation of company guidelines, and that the 'matter was being passed along to the appropriate parties,' according to the complaint.
That November, while out on medical leave, the complaint says Matthews received a termination letter from United, ending her employment, 'effective immediately.'
Yet, Matthews' complaint says United 'continues to employ [the supervisor who allegedly harassed her] and has not taken any remedial or corrective action' against him.
'As such, [his] role training new employees continues to provide fertile ground for his predatory behaviors and sexual harassment,' the complaint contends.
The experience left Matthews 'extremely humiliated, degraded, victimized, embarrassed and emotionally distressed,' according to the complaint.
Matthews' suit, which was filed July 7 in Newark federal court, follows another filed last week by a United pilot, who claims a concussion was mistaken by the carrier for alcoholism, and that he was unnecessarily forced into rehab for a problem that didn't exist.
She is now seeking a money judgment, to be determined by a jury, for lost wages, back and front pay, punitive damages, liquidated and statutory damages, attorneys' fees, plus court costs.
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