‘It’s unfair’: VA cemetery sexual harassment accuser says process favors accused
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Jennifer Jones filed a sexual harassment complaint against her Bay Pines VA Cemetery boss, hoping there would be accountability but the process left her disappointed.
For more than a year sandwiched around a year of active duty, Jones was part of the St. Petersburg cemetery staff that honored the deceased and guided the families through the ceremony.
Doug Maddox was her supervisor.
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Jones, a Navy reservist, is one of two women who filed sexual harassment complaints about Maddox with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA will not discuss the investigations.
In her complaint, Jones claimed Maddox made inappropriate comments about how she dressed and what she liked to read.
Jones also accused him of being insensitive to widows at Bay Pines funerals.
One episode involved a woman who was trying to find something in her purse, according to Jones.
Jones’ complaint states Maddox told the widow it “looks like you’re going to have to start getting used to not having your husband around anymore to help you with things.”
“She just lost her husband. That’s disrespectful,” Jones said. “There’s a lot that bothered me about that. How can he say something like that?”
The closest Jones came to mediation for her case was in June. But the morning of the hearing, the VA cancelled because no one had told the mediator about the meeting.
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“The leadership’s response to that was, it’s okay. It’s no big deal. But it is a big deal,” Jones said with frustration. “It is a big deal.”
She said her case is now inactive.
Maddox, who was reassigned to Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell after the complaints, declined a request for comment about the accusations. He referred 8 On Your Side to National Cemetery Administration spokesman Eric Schnaible.
“While VA cannot comment on personnel actions or investigations,” Schnaible said. “VA is committed to ensuring a safe, welcoming, and harassment-free environment for all Veterans, employees, and visitors.”
The Bay Pines Cemetery was not a “harassment-free environment” for Jones
She said the VA investigation into her case showed her a process “slanted” toward the accused, making it more difficult for the accuser.
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“We’ll let him work from home. We’ll just reroute him and let’s just place him over here,” Jones said, referencing Maddox’s reassignment. “In the meantime, [the victim] is still trying to go through all the red tape. I have to submit this, and the VA wants that and I’m the one doing the leg work. It’s unfair.”
Jones also said she would have preferred that her case was conducted by investigators from outside Bay Pines VA
The most recent VA data comes from a 2020 General Accounting Office (GAO) survey that showed about 22% of VA employees surveyed reported they experienced some sort of sexual harassment.
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