A judge recently blocked Safelite’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit over alleged retaliation for sexual harassment complaints.
How it Started
Former employee Brittany Williams filed suit against Safelite Group on July 9, 2024.
Williams worked for Safelite for 10 years, first as a customer advocate and later as a store manager in Waldorf, Maryland. Williams alleges that, while she was store manager, two of the shop’s technicians “inappropriately commented” on her undergarments as well as certain body parts and piercings. Williams alleges that she reminded the technicians of Safelite’s sexual harassment policy and alerted her district manager, Anthony Mazzola, who advised her to document the technicians’ behavior.
“Safelite [then] assigned associate relations partner Daryhl Pisano to investigate Williams’ sexual harassment complaint,” reads the court order from Judge Paula Xinis.
Pisano received complaints about Williams’ management style while investigating her claim, according to the court order, and opened another investigation into Williams alleged “performance deficiencies.”
“The investigative summary reflects that Pisano took very different approaches for each investigation,” the court order says.
According to the court’s interpretation of the evidence, Pisano put more effort into investigating William’s alleged poor management than her claims of sexual harassment. Pisano and Mazzola then allegedly gave Williams a “final written warning” about creating a “toxic” work environment. Williams claims that that was the only written warning she ever received, though she’d received prior “coaching sessions” on her management style. Williams claims that Safelite also reduced her performance review.
The Court’s Opinion
The court order says that Williams then filed a formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Safelite. The EEOC recommended that Williams and Safelite “enter a reconciliation agreement,” but, according to the court, Safelite refused to do so. That’s when Williams filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
After nearly two years of litigation, Safelite moved for summary judgment. The company alleged that Williams didn’t have sufficient evidence that her Title VII Civil Rights Act protections were violated. Judge Xinis disagreed and issued the order denying Safelite’s motion on March 13.
“Safelite transformed an investigation of Williams’ harassment complaint into one about her difficult management style,” it says. “When viewing Pisano’s investigation summary alone, a juror could conclude that he purposely gave Williams’ complaint short shrift and instead leaned into creating a case against her.”
The judge also denied Safelite’s motion to include “unrelated” evidence that Williams had allegedly misappropriated trade secrets in 2025.
A Similar Lawsuit
Former Safelite employee Kristi Lumpkin filed a similar, though unrelated, lawsuit in Georgia in April of 2025. Lumpkin also alleged that she had been discriminated against as a result of reporting harassment.
Lumpkin and Safelite filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia on Feb. 18, concluding the lawsuit.
SAFELITE IS OUT OF CONTROL!!!! THEY ARE GETTING TOO BIG FOR THEIR OWN BRITCHES. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE….