Oregon Department of Corrections settles sexual harassment, retaliation lawsuit for $500K
The Oregon Department of Corrections has agreed to pay a former correctional officer $500,000 to settle her sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against the agency.
The case was scheduled for trial in Eugene Monday.
The federal lawsuit was filed in 2021. Ashley Longhorn, a former correctional officer at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, alleged the agency failed to take action against harassment and rumors after she reported being sexually assaulted by a more senior corrections officer.
"The Department of Corrections failed to keep me safe after I made a report of sexual assault,” Longhorn said in a news release about the settlement. “I hope my case will spur a change in the culture of predatory behavior towards female employees at EOCI so that what happens to me never happens to another woman.”
According to the complaint, Longhorn was 24 when she began working as an officer at EOCI in 2020. She alleged Matthew Klimek, her mentor and a more senior officer, who was also named as a defendant in the case, assaulted her in his home in May 2020. Longhorn reported the assault to another coworker who reported the assault to an assistant superintendent, according to the complaint.
After the assault, Longhorn claimed, Klimek began stalking her. Other staff spread "degrading rumors" about Longhorn which were overheard by adults in custody, the complaint alleged.
"The Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC), knowing of the assault and the hostile environment, failed and refused to protect Longhorn. Longhorn was forced to take unpaid leave for PTSD and anxiety, and she switched to the graveyard shift to protect herself and avoid hostile co-workers. The DOC continued to fail to take effective corrective action, and she ultimately had no choice but to resign," the complaint said.
Klimek, according to the complaint, had been at EOCI for 11 years.
According to court records, Klimek was arrested on six charges related to the assault in December 2020. The charges were dismissed in 2021. A defamation lawsuit Klimek filed against Longhorn was also dismissed this January after the parties reached a mutual agreement, according to public records.
Longhorn resigned from her position in May 2021. Klimek's employment with DOC ended in January 2022, according to the DOC.
Longhorn was seeking a declaration that the DOC had engaged in "unlawful sex discrimination and retaliation" against her, back pay for lost wages and benefits, and for the DOC to reinstate her to her position or award front pay. Longhorn also asked the court to award damages determined by the jury.
On Monday, the DOC agreed to pay Longhorn $500,000 to settle the lawsuit.
"This case is an important reminder that women workers, particularly those in male-dominated fields, continue to face sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation,” her attorney Caitlin Mitchell of Johnson Johnson Lucas & Middleton, PC in Eugene said in a release.
Mitchell told the Statesman Journal that Longhorn wanted to emphasize that the DOC has turned a blind eye to these problems and must enforce its existing policies.
"Until they are really willing to take the time to actually see and understand these problems, it'll be impossible for them to do anything about it," Longhorn said through her attorney.
The Department of Corrections declined to comment on the settlement.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on Twitter at @diannelugo
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon Department of Corrections settles harassment lawsuit
