Former employee files sexual harassment lawsuit against Springfield nonprofit

Sparc, 232 Bruns Lane, was one of the COVID-19 Response Fund grant recipients. [SJ-R]
Sparc, 232 Bruns Lane, was one of the COVID-19 Response Fund grant recipients. [SJ-R]

After reporting allegations of sexual harassment, a fired employee at a Springfield nonprofit serving people with intellectual disabilities has filed a lawsuit seeking reinstatement to his job saying his employer retaliated against him.

Luke Bryant filed the lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Central Division of Illinois on Sept. 27. He had served as Sparc's director of programs and services prior to his termination in July 2021. Sparc, along with former chief executive officer Greg O'Connor, members of its board of directors: president Mary Trask, Steve Nardulli, and John Howerter, have been named as defendants.

Bryant also requested a jury trial ruling that would award him damages and cover his attorney fees. Sparc communications director Denise Schainker said, at the advice of the nonprofit's attorneys, that they had no comment regarding the litigation.

According to the lawsuit, O'Connor made "sexual advances" and harassed several employees, including Bryant. The allegations were reported to several Sparc directors -- one of which reported it directly to O'Connor before starting an investigation.

The Sparc chief executive officer retaliated against Bryant with actions that included "stripping his job duties, demoting him, and making him move to a different job location," according to the lawsuit. Bryant then sent an email to O'Connor and Trask again outlining the allegations and requested an investigation.

The credibility of the investigation was however questioned since Nardulli, a former associate judge on the Seventh Judicial Court of Illinois, would be conducting it as determined by Sparc. Nardulli was the vice president of the board of directors, which the lawsuit claims made him "far from an independent investigator."

In the court document, Bryant met with Nardulli despite his concerns on July 12, 2021 -- approximately six days after filing a discrimination charge with the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“During the interview it was very clear that Nardulli had no interest in discussing or addressing Bryant’s allegations of sexual harassment or that he had been retaliated against,” according to the 10-page lawsuit. “Instead Nardulli used the interviews as a pretext for trying to build a case of misconduct against both Bryant and (Josh) Sergent (Bryant’s immediate supervisor).”

Less than three weeks later, Sparc terminated Bryant. O’Connor resigned the following day.

Sparc, according to its website, was founded in 1951 and reported having 175 employees in 2020 per ProPublica’s database of companies receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans. The nonprofit received $981,832 to cover payroll expenses.

In 2019, Sparc paid $36,200 to settle an unrelated federal labor complaint with former employees who claimed they were fired for trying to join a union.

More:Sparc settles with workers who alleged anti-union retaliation

Sparc said it settled that case to save on potential legal fees and denied anti-union or unethical activity.

Contact Patrick Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield nonprofit Sparc facing sexual harassment lawsuit