EAST ST. LOUIS — A former call center operations director with American Water Resources claims she suffered a hostile work environment and retaliation after filing an ethics complaint.
Stacy Owens filed a complaint Oct. 29 in the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against American Water Resources LLC, doing business as American Water Resources Inc., alleging civil rights violations.
According to the complaint, Owens, an African American female, was employed by AWR from Dec. 4, 2016, through Oct. 16, 2020, as a call center operations director in Alton. She alleges that beginning in February 2019, she addressed several issues with the human resources director and vice president of operations. Specifically, she claims she addressed pay equity issues and the fact that she was not included in critical decisions, which had adverse effects on its Alton operations.
Owens further alleges that in February 2020, she filed a formal ethics complaint and faced retaliation, including "micro-managing." She also claims the defendant looked for ways to terminate her employment.
Owens seeks a judgment in her favor plus all other relief the court deems just. She is represented by Sherrie Hall of The Workers Rights Law Firm LLC in St. Louis and Larry Bagsby of The Bagsby Law Firm in St. Charles, Mo.
U.S District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:21-CV-1365