A former executive for the D.C. Lottery filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging she was fired for reporting that a director sexually harassed her and other female employees.
D.C. Lottery spokesman Bob Rainey said gaming officials have not seen the lawsuit that was filed this week in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia and would not comment on personnel matters.
Toby Cooper, of Leesburg, Va., claims in her lawsuit that she complained to her supervisors that IT Director Erich Coleman made several sexual advances, fondled her thigh and talked about her bra size between April 2005 and May 2006.
Cooper said that her supervisors told her to keep quiet and then retaliated when she continued to complain about Coleman’s advances. Coleman remained as head of the information technology department until U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn, D-Md., and the District’s Office of Human Rights began investigating, Cooper said.
She claimed that three other women also came forward with complaints about Coleman.
A month later, Coleman was fired, and a month after that, Cooper was fired.
Cooper said Executive Director Jeanette Michael and Chief Operating Officer Jay Young told her she was being fired for “breaking ranks” with the D.C. Lottery executive team.
Last year, D.C. Lottery finished with a record $266.2 million in sales and players winning $146.6 million.
The agency transferred $73.8 million to the city’s general fund and licensed almost 150 nonprofit organizations to hold charitable gaming events in which they raised $4.8 million.
