Lawsuit accuses City of Morgantown of allowing sexually hostile work environment go on for several months

MORGANTOWN, W.Va – An employee has filed a lawsuit against the City of Morgantown that alleges that they failed to protect employees from persistent sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.

The complaint was filed by Sarahlin Duley, an engineering technician in the city’s Engineering and Public Works Department, which details allegations of unwanted physical contact and explicit comments from her supervisor. Interactions that she claims were ignored by city officials when brought to their attention prior to filing the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, Duley claims Daniel Fluharty, the former deputy director of Engineering and Public Works, was allowed to sexually harass her and another female employee for months with no repercussions from department superiors or city representatives. Duley says that the city and multiple officials violated the West Virginia Human Rights Act

According to the lawsuit, Fluharty allegedly made sexually inappropriate comments to the women and escalated the harassment by inappropriately pressing himself against their bodies repeatedly. Fluharty also allegedly showed her and other colleagues a nude photo of a female on his phone.

The lawsuit claims that the city failed to remove Fluharty from his position until April 2023 despite multiple complaints, seven months after he began working and the initial reports of harassment were made. It was also alleged that even after Fluharty was placed on administrative leave, the city failed to implement adequate safeguards to prevent retaliation and intimidation against her.

The City of Morgantown Director of Public Relations and Communications Brad Riffee issued the following statement:

“We are aware of the allegations in Ms. Duley’s lawsuit and want to assure the community that the City of Morgantown took prompt and appropriate action upon receiving reports of the alleged conduct, and the employee who was involved no longer works for the City. The safety of our employees and community is our highest priority. Our city staff have taken the necessary steps to address this matter and will continue to promote an equitable working environment for all of our employees. While we attempted to resolve this issue with Ms. Duley, the City is confident that the judicial process will lead to an appropriate resolution.”