On Friday, HuffPost reported that New Hampshire Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Smith and former town manager of Londonderry “dismissed and mishandled repeated complaints of workplace harassment and retaliation while he held that role, and the town eventually settled a related lawsuit at the public’s expense.”
In 2018, an administrative assistant for the town of Londonderry, “sued the town and her former manager, accusing them of disability discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation.” Specifically, the lawsuit said “Smith himself made demeaning comments about women in the workplace […] such as making ‘dumb blonde jokes’ and referring to a female subordinate as ‘pork chop.’”
The administrative assistant said Smith took retaliatory actions against her and called her “disrespectful” — eventually leading her to resign.
Smith has been involved in a nasty GOP primary where he recently accused his primary opponent Chuck Morse of spreading the story.
HuffPost: GOP Senate Candidate Once Called Female Subordinate ‘Pork Chop,’ Lawsuit Says
By Molly Redden | July 8, 2022
Key Points:
- “In the crowded primary race to challenge Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) for her Senate seat, Republican Kevin Smith argues that his decade as the town manager of Londonderry is what sets him apart. But Smith allegedly dismissed and mishandled repeated complaints of workplace harassment and retaliation while he held that role, and the town eventually settled a related lawsuit at the public’s expense, HuffPost has learned.”
- “Smith himself made demeaning comments about women in the workplace, Doolan claimed, such as making “dumb blonde jokes” and referring to a female subordinate as ‘pork chop.’”
- “Smith discouraged Doolan from bringing a union representative, her lawsuit claimed, although she was entitled to do so, saying he believed the representative would intimidate her bosses. Smith met with Doolan three more times, she said, and each time told her not to bring a representative. She said he pushed her to take a job in another department instead of taking action against her bosses.”
- “Eventually, she said, Smith also took actions that she believed to be retaliatory. In 2016, after she complained to him that she was being assigned more work than was possible in her 28-hour week and was working off the clock without additional pay, Smith told her she was being “disrespectful” and gave her an official warning. She resigned a month later.”
Read the full HuffPost report here.
Published: Jul 11, 2022 | Last Modified: Aug 26, 2022