Former Warwick Water Department employee alleges harassment, Nazi jokes in lawsuit

PROVIDENCE – Wait a second Warwick Water Division The employee sued the city over working conditions she said were rife with sexual harassment, aggression and retaliation; All this happened because managers constantly looked the other way.

Peter Broomfield, who started working for the department as an operations assistant in 2015, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court last week, claiming he was discriminated against because of his Jewish heritage and assaulted by a supervisor who slapped him so hard that he was assaulted by a supervisor who slapped him so hard that he was assaulted by a supervisor who slapped him so hard that he slapped her. He blushed after his superior made a Nazi “knock-knock” joke.

She alleges that her rights were violated by the city and the department itself, and that she was discriminatory and retaliatory termination from her job at significant financial cost after she reported ongoing sexual harassment and assault. He is seeking reimbursement for mental anguish and unspecified damages.

Broomfield’s case is the second complaint regarding a toxic work environment at the Water Division. Bree Boulais, a former administrator in the Water Division. Earlier this year, the city was sued, claiming the department was a “boys club.”“

The city, which has not responded in court, “cannot comment on this as it is a legal matter,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Tufts said in an email.

What’s in the case?

Accordingly Broomfield’s complaintHe worked at the department for seven years without incident, but that changed when Boulais took over as water project manager in 2021.

By 2022, the workplace became hostile towards Boulais, and Boulais said co-workers and supervisors made sexually explicit comments to her, Broomfield said.

Department Manager Terry DePetrillo, one of Boulais’ bosses, walked into the office one day and commented: “Bree, I think I left my socks by your bed,” and later says, “I want to come to Bree and put her on the train,” he says to a technician in a suit. Boulais contacted a supervisor, Michael St., who said he would handle the matter. He complained to Pierre.

Broomfield also says staff endured ongoing sexually charged interactions between DePetrillo’s brother, Michael DePetrillo, who worked in the same department, and co-worker Krystal Ducharme (even though both were married).

Broomfield alleges that Michael DePetrillo, who continued to work at the department, frequently engaged in sexist, feminizing behavior at work during his relationship with Ducharme. The couple openly discussed being together and engaged in sexually explicit banter.

Managers say Broomfield was discouraged from reporting this behavior to human resources, and when she did, nothing was done.

Complainant says allegations will be handled ‘internally’

In early 2022, Boulais reported to Terry DePetrillo that Michael DePetrillo began threatening and intimidating him over his reports of his behavior. On April 1, 2022, Broomfield said Michael DePetrillo threw a power tool at him and glared at him as he walked to his car to eat lunch.

The complaint states that Terry DePetrillo told Boulais not to go to human resources and that he would handle the matter “in-house.” However, the Boulais situation in St. He reported to Pierre.

According to the lawsuit, Terry DePetrillo told Broomfield that his brother had a history of violence and that “violence of any kind would not be tolerated” and ordered office staff to gather at a restaurant to discuss what had happened. He said his brother would be held responsible “to the fullest extent.”

Terry DePetrillo later reported to Broomfield that his brother refused to throw the tool, instead saying it fell out of the back of his truck; A statement Broomfield made was not true.

Human resources come into play

St. Pierre instructed the staff to refer the incident to human resources. Human resources director Steven Rotondo and Department of Public Works Director Eric Earls interviewed the group individually. Broomfield said she reported that the sexually harassing behavior of Michael DePetrillo and Ducharme made her, Boulais and others uncomfortable.

Michael DePetrillo said during his interview that this time he threw the tool on the ground to remove part of it.

When Terry DePetrillo learned his brother was being interviewed, he became angry and told Broomfield and Boulais “you should have kept your mouth shut, you (expletive)” and “Great job, you got a good guy.” fired,” the suit says.

Broomfield said she felt threatened and retaliated against for reporting harassment by Michael DePetrillo.

In the case, St. Pierre allegedly did not intervene on behalf of himself and Boulais, and instead stated that he would never take a matter to human resources again based on Terry DePetrillo’s behavior. As a result of the investigation, Michael DePetrillo was given a 10-day unpaid suspension.

More: The lawsuit includes allegations of a ‘boys club’ and sexual harassment at the Warwick Water Department. What should know?

The boss disappeared

In the months that followed, Terry DePetrillo rarely came to the office, sometimes disappearing for days at a time, leaving St. This led to Pierre stepping in as director. According to the lawsuit, DePetrillo appeared disheveled when he showed up and would give Broomfield and Boulais the silent treatment, with the workplace becoming increasingly hostile.

Rotondo and Earls returned to the department in November 2022, at which time Broomfield said Terry DePetrillo reported feeling unsafe in the workplace due to his aggressive and erratic behavior.

Broomfield, co-worker removed from Christmas ad

Broomfield alleges that during his many absences, Terry DePetrillo appeared to cede authority to his brother, Michael DePetrillo, forcing him and Boulais to work with him – St. Louis. A situation that Pierre did nothing to stop.

According to the lawsuit, Michael DePetrillo bought special business cards for everyone in the office except Broomfield and Boulais, and they were excluded from a Christmas ad put out by Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi.

Sexual harassment claim continues

The DePetrillos’ retaliation against her and Boulais continued until April 2023 because they filed protected reports of sexual harassment, according to the lawsuit.

During this period, another co-worker also began sexually harassing Boulais, telling her that he dreamed of kissing her; Boulais also texted Broomfield. Broomfield, St. He said he told Pierre and again nothing was done. St. in the case. It is also alleged that Pierre sexually harassed Boulais.

According to the lawsuit, Broomfield advised Boulais to report the situation to human resources and said he would support her.

Slap after Nazi joke

Later, on August 8, 2023, Terry DePetrillo Boulais and St. He called Pierre into Broomfield’s office and told them he wanted to share a joke. He stopped near Broomfield, whom he knew was Jewish, and said: “This is my Nazi joke. Knock knock,” the suit says.

Broomfield said he started to say who was there, but DePetrillo slapped him across the face with his open hand, hard enough to hear it. DePetrillo, Boulais and St. While Pierre looked shocked, he continued his punchline by saying, “We’ll be the ones asking the questions” and laughing.

Broomfield said she found the joke not only degrading and offensive, but also an assault in the workplace.

‘The mayor turns a blind eye’

Boulais, St. Pierre and Broomfield met in the parking lot to discuss the incident and St. “At this point, I have to believe the mayor is turning a blind eye,” commented Pierre regarding the ongoing abuses. More than one person reported to human resources, the lawsuit says.

Broomfield says in the lawsuit that she called in sick because she felt unsafe in the office and later went to human resources with a union representative to report both the Nazi joke and the accompanying slap. He asked to be transferred, but human resources refused.

Broomfield said he can’t return to work without a transfer because he took out a no-contact order against Terry DePetrillo, who is currently on medical leave, according to the city. Rotondo requested that he return to work by August 23, 2023, or be assessed workers’ compensation and receive a prorated weekly wage. Broomfield said he perceived the announcement as an effective termination. That was the last time he heard from the city, but he said Rotondo told him he would keep him informed of the results of the investigation.

Broomfield filed a police report against DePetrillo the same day. A review of court records in June showed that DePetrillo pleaded guilty and filed a lawsuit in Superior Court; This meant that if he remained on good behavior for a year, the charge would be expunged from his record. The case has now been removed from the court records.

Out of work on workers’ compensation, the city used Broomfield’s 700 hours of sick leave that ended in March to pay him. Workers’ compensation payments were completely stopped.

Broomfield says he has suffered a significant financial impact, including the loss of “hundreds of thousands of retirement money.”

Broomfield says as recently as April, Michael DePetrillo walked by and gave him the finger.