FAYETTEVILLE — A former Willow Creek Women’s Hospital employee is claiming in a federal lawsuit she was sexually harassed on the job and fired when she complained about it.
Mark E. Ford, a Fort Smith attorney, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in the Western District of Arkansas on behalf of Carla Nuckles, also of Fort Smith.
The suit names the hospital, Northwest Medical Center and Northwest Arkansas Hospitals as defendants.
Pat Driscoll, the health system’s director of business development and marketing, said Thursday the company would not comment on a pending lawsuit.
Nuckles, who worked as the hospital’s director of neonatal intensive care from November 2008 until May 2011, alleges that beginning in late 2009 her supervisor and her supervisor’s husband repeatedly subjected her to unwelcome sexual comments and email messages at work.
Nuckles tried to report the incidents anonymously to corporate human resources in late 2010 but was told no action would be taken if she would not identify herself, according to the lawsuit.
She attempted to report her supervisor for driving at her aggressively in October 2010 but was told it was not her supervisor in the other vehicle and no action was taken.
Soon after that incident, Nuckles began taking time off periodically to deal with a medical condition. Whenever she returned to work, she would be written up and was finally fired in May 2011. Nuckles claims the firing was without cause.
Nuckles is seeking unspecified damages for lost earnings, emotional distress and mental anguish.