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A woman who once worked at a Kamloops non-profit agency aimed at supporting women claims she was sexually assaulted by her boss, then advised she should have been more assertive.

She filed a civil claim against the Kamloops Elizabeth Fry Society on March 27, claiming she was constructively dismissed in the fall of 2023.

"As a result of the sexual harassment, sexual assault and the defendant's inappropriate and inadequate response to (the executive director's) conduct, the workplace became objectively intolerable," the claim reads.

The former employee was on sick leave before advising Elizabeth Fry she wouldn't be returning.

iNFOnews.ca isn't naming the former employee who filed the lawsuit. She did not respond to a phone call from iNFOnews.ca. iNFOnews.ca was also unable to contact the former executive director, who also isn't named in this story.

The former employee worked with the Kamloops non-profit for several years before the executive director started in January 2023. The new boss was described as "emotionally volatile" who would frequently get angry with employees she believed slighted her, according to the claim.

She would regularly discipline employees, "particularly when she was angry and annoyed at them," the claim reads. The employee was scared and intimidated, "constantly afraid" of being disciplined, but never was.

Despite this, she also felt "compassion" for her former boss, who confessed to being very lonely and struggled with mental health issues.

They maintained a friendly relationship in early 2023, often exchanging text messages and spending time outside of work.

The relationship soon took a turn.

That spring, the former executive director became "very possessive" of her, while also getting angry over "perceived slights." The executive director also started making sexual comments and jokes toward her, which are described as harassment in the claim and made her uncomfortable, according to the claim.

"However, because of (the executive director's) emotional volatility and the control she exercised over the plaintiff's job, the plaintiff did not feel it was safe for her to ask (her boss) to stop engaging in the sexual harassment," the claim read.

Instead, she would ignore them.

This continued until it escalated to an alleged sexual assault in the Lower Mainland.

The pair were in Vancouver for work and went to dinner together on one night at a restaurant that serves customers in complete darkness.

The employee said she was uncomfortable, but her boss dismissed the protests and they went anyway. Her boss put her hand on her thigh while waiting to get inside, touched her hands and arms while they were seated, then touched her breast, buttocks and arms after they stood to leave, according to the claim.

"The plaintiff repeatedly asked (the executive director) to stop touching her, but (she) did not stop," the claim read.

The employee reported the sexual assault to another manager the next day and the executive director was placed on leave during the investigation, which lasted more than a month.

She called the investigation "procedurally unfair," claiming she wasn't allowed to know or respond to her boss' version of events. The investigator also "failed to consider or improperly considered key facts underlying" the sexual assault claim.

The investigation found no wrongdoing on the executive director's part, while the employee was "traumatized and distressed."

Her boss would soon leave the organization.

The interim executive director later met with the employee, who told her the former executive director gave an entirely different version of events from the dinner, according to the claim.

The investigation "could not conclude" whether there was any wrongdoing, but it "revealed the plaintiff had a problem standing up for herself and setting boundaries."

It suggested she needed to be "more assertive" and be more comfortable with difficult conversations with other employees, including her superiors.

Kamloops Elizabeth Fry Society was intending to send the employee to a course on setting professional boundaries, according to the claim.

"The plaintiff was shocked and humiliated by the defendant's comments. She felt like the defendant was saying it was her fault that she was sexually harassed and assaulted, and that it was her responsibility to prevent herself from being abused in the workplace," the claim read.

Kamloops Elizabeth Fry Society has not responded to the claim and was not available for comment on this story.

None of the claims have been proven in court.

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