A female Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources employee, serving as a resource ranger at Blue Knob State Park, claims in a federal civil rights lawsuit that she was subjected to a hostile work environment for the last two years.

In her lawsuit, Emily Irvin of Windber complained that she was repeatedly sexually harassed by a park supervisor hired in 2021, and she charged when she complained during a performance review about several incidents of harassment, the park operations manager at the time reduced her job rating.

Other employees at the state park also complained about the supervisor’s harassment of female employees, and according to the facts outlined in the lawsuit, the operations manager in preparation for the 2022 season responded, “Girls we are not going to have that drama that we did last year, right?”

Irvin, in her lawsuit, stated that the manager’s comments led her to believe he had no intention of stopping the harassment.

She reported that as the 2022 park season got underway, the supervisor’s harassment escalated to the point of unwanted physical touching that in one incident caused her to cry out in pain.

Also, she stated that the park manager denied her requests to attend several training sessions.

On Nov. 1, 2022, Irvin filed a complaint with the state Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against DCNR.

EEOC replied in January of this year that it concluded the underlying claim of sexual harassment has been “substantiated,” the lawsuit stated.

The attorney for Irvin, Nicholas W. Kennedy of Pittsburgh, last week filed a lawsuit on behalf of Irvin with U.S. District Court in Johnstown.

It charges that DCNR subjected Irvin to a hostile work environment in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

It stated, “DCNR created a hostile work environment for Ms. Irvin because of her sex and in retaliation for her protected activity.”

The lawsuit also charged the agency with retaliation in terms of compensation, conditions and privileges of her employment — also a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Finally, the lawsuit contends DCNR’s decision to discriminate against Irvin was motivated by her sex.

Irvin is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with interest as well as costs and attorneys fees. It seeks a declaration that the agency’s handling of the matter was “unlawful and an intentional violation of the plaintiff’s rights.”

The lawsuit reported that the park operations manager was suspended and demoted on March 9, 2023, stating, “Specifically, between March of 2021 and October of 2022, you knew or should have known that sexual harassment and other inappropriate behaviors were taking place. You failed to act upon this knowledge and neglected to report these allegations to your chain of command, per policy until October 26, 2022.”

The DCNR’s conclusion in its March 9 letter establishes that it is liable for the harassment, according to the Irvin lawsuit.