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A longtime employee for the City of Valparaiso has amended her complaint against the city with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
Kathy Lynn Gralik has added gender discrimination, retaliation and hostile work environment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to her complaint against the City of Valparaiso after receiving a “Notice of Right to Sue” letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Gralik had filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC in March and amended the charge of discrimination in June.
Gralik filed her complaint on Aug. 15 against the City of Valparaiso, Mayor Matt Murphy, former City Administrator Mike Jessen, Organizational Development Solutions, Inc. and ODS President Desila Rosetti for various federal and state claims, including violations of her constitutional rights, arising from gender discrimination/pay discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and defamation.
“I’m saddened that the city has refused to make this right and address these issues, but I’m pleased the EEOC has given us the go ahead to move forward and force the city to treat women equally. We are prepared to see this go to trial and I look forward to seeing this through to the end,” Gralik said in a news release.
Gralik has worked for the city for more than 23 years and alleges she has experienced and observed various forms of gender-based discrimination and harassment, but the city disregarded and thwarted her efforts to fight against workplace misconduct and unlawful employment actions.
According to the amended complaint, Gralik has been the city’s human resources director since 2016 and has worked for the city since 2000.
Gralik is represented by attorneys Kathleen DeLaney and Christopher Stake of DeLaney & DeLaney LLC of Indianapolis and Paul Poracky and Karrie Schwartz of Koransky, Bouwer & Poracky, P.C. of Dyer.
“We look forward to the discovery process, which we expect will garner significant evidence substantiating Ms. Gralik’s legal claims,” DeLaney said in a news release.
Gralik’s co-counsel Karrie Schwartz called Gralik brave for taking the matter to court.
“Despite devoting her working life to the City of Valparaiso, Lynn Gralik has been subject to terribly unfair pay and conditions. She has bravely stepped up to remedy this situation, not just for herself, but for others employed by the City,” Schwartz said in a news release.
The complaint is seeking compensatory damages, emotional distress damages, reputational damages, liquidated and/or punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs in unspecified amounts in the lawsuit and a jury trial.
Poracky sent the notice of tort claim to the city council, treasurer and mayor which lists the dollar amount of loss as $1 million.
Attorneys James Alex Emerson and Matthew L. Hinkle with Carmel law firm Coots Henke & Wheeler PC are the lead attorneys for the city, Mayor Matt Murphy and Mike Jessen.
Indiana Lawyer has reached out to Emerson and Hinkle for comment.
Neither ODS nor Rosetti have an attorney listed.
Senior Judge Theresa Springmann has been assigned to the case with Magistrate Judge Joshua Kolar.
The case is Kathy Lynn Gralik v. City of Valparaiso, Mayor Matt Murphy (in his individual capacity), and Mike Jessen (in his individual capacity), Organizational Development Solutions Inc., and Desila Rosetti, 2:23-cv-00279.
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