A female employee who spent more than 30 years at the Bridgestone Americas’ manufacturing facility in La Vergne filed a lawsuit in federal court last week alleging that she was sexually harassed, told by human resources officials to “rise above it,” and then fired on trumped-up charges.
The company is headquartered in downtown Nashville on the honorarily named Bridgestone Drive and manufactures bus and truck tires at the La Vergne facility, which as of 2015 had more than 1,000 employees. Bridgestone says it is investigating the claims.
“Bridgestone is dedicated to creating a safe working environment and an inclusive, respectful culture in which all of its employees can work,” says the company through a spokesperson. “Though the company cannot comment on pending litigation, it is working diligently to confirm the facts of the case and to ensure its corporate values and related policies are upheld at each of the plants and sites it operates.”
According to the lawsuit, filed in Nashville federal court, the plaintiff was made aware last spring of a rumor about a nonexistent video of her and another employee engaging in a sexual act. Because of the rumor, multiple fellow Bridgestone employees reportedly harassed the plaintiff with unwanted sexual advances and comments.
According to the plaintiff, the harassment “often extended beyond derogatory comments and suggestions and involved unconsented physical touching by [Bridgestone’s] male employees."
The plaintiff reportedly complained about the behavior to multiple supervisors and was told to go to human resources. A human resources employee allegedly told the plaintiff to “rise above it.”
On the same day she spoke with human resources, she accidentally drove a work vehicle into a union bicycle parked in the work area.
According to the lawsuit, she and the bicycle operator determined that no significant damage was done to the equipment; the operator continued to ride the bicycle for the remainder of the shift, and the plaintiff says it remains in use one year later. She was fired for “deliberate destruction of company property” eight days later, according to the complaint.
The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Timothy Hogan and Whitney Raque, neither of whom could be reached for further comment. A case management conference is scheduled before a magistrate judge in July.
