Metro settles two sexual harassment suits

A file photo of a Metrobus in the D.C. area. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

Metro has settled two sexual harassment lawsuits filed by women working for the agency.

In court filings, Metro said settlement payments were due to be delivered Monday to a lawyer for Arlancia Williams. In a $200,000 lawsuit from 2016, Williams said she reported a bus division supervisor for sexual harassment only to see him get reassigned and while she lost out on a job assignment she was due to get.

Details of the settlement were not listed in the court documents.

The suit alleged that Metro’s then-head of bus transportation told Williams, “Since you can’t work under the stress from being harassed, maybe this isn’t the job for you.”

In a separate $200,000 case, Metro reached an agreement in late April with another woman who filed a lawsuit in fall 2016 about harassment by a bus division supervisor.

She accused Metro of discriminating against her based on age and gender by holding her to higher standards than other people with the same job; and of retaliation by demoting and reassigning her after she reported harassment.

The lawsuit also charged that Metro had failed to properly punish numerous complaints of harassment and unprofessional behavior.

One of the victim’s complaints included comments made by an assistant superintendent who said, “You know you and [your husband] Greg ain’t doing nothing, you ought to give me some.”

The lawsuit also claimed that another supervisor asked her for sex in exchange for a job assignment she wanted.

An internal Metro investigation had cleared the supervisor — who denied the accusation — citing a lack of corroborating evidence.

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