(WWJ) -- A lawsuit filed against the city of Southfield claims a former police lieutenant experienced a hostile work environment after reporting sexual harassment by a civilian employee.
In the lawsuit, filed by Marko Law, PLLC, Christine Miller, a former lieutenant of the city’s police department, alleges she experienced a hostile work environment, disparate treatment and retaliation during her time on the force.
The lawsuit says Miller was “an exemplary employee” of the department from 1999 to 2020, being promoted to a lieutenant of the Investigations Division in March 2017.
She was on track to become a deputy chief, the lawsuit says, until October 2018 when she became aware of several complaints about a civilian Southfield Police Department employee, Gary Conat’s inappropriate behavior.
The lawsuit alleges that Conat made inappropriate and offensive racial and sex-based comments, including about “dirty Albanians” and “dumb c***s” being in charge in the office, referring to women that had been recently promoted.
Miller met with Conat to address the issues and review department policy, according to the lawsuit. During their meeting Conat allegedly said to Miller, “Go ahead, your royal c**t-ness.” He also allegedly asked her in a sarcastic tone, “are any other female command officers offended?”
Following their meeting, Miller felt she had no choice but to file a formal complaint regarding Conat’s behavior.
Conat was later fired from the police department.
But in aftermath of Conat’s dismissal, Miller says she faced “extreme retaliation” by her supervisor, Deputy Chief Nick Loussia. The lawsuit says she was accused of insubordination and being demoted from her position.
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Though Miller took a leave of absence because of the alleged retaliation she had been enduring, she was allegedly forced to return to work with the threat of her retirement date being moved.
When she returned to work, the lawsuit says, she continued to face retaliation that she could no longer endure and entered into early retirement in June 2020.
"You have a rising star and as soon as she complains, you see her career go into the gutter. I think it's pretty clear what happened here," Attorney Jon Marko told WWJ's Jon Hewett.
“Ms. Miller was extremely passionate about her job and her community,” Marko said in a press release. “When faced with complaints in her department, she took action to better the workplace to ensure that others were being treated fairly and respectfully. Being retaliated against by your employer for standing up [for] what is right is unconscionable and illegal, and even worse when it happens in our public government.”
The lawsuit was filed in Oakland County Circuit Court, including claims for hostile work environment, disparate treatment and retaliation in violation of the Michigan Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act.