TACOMA — Pierce County has settled for $80,000 a gender discrimination lawsuit brought by a maintenance technician who claimed she was repeatedly denied promotions in a male-dominated department because she is a woman.
Lisa Farrar, a worker in the county’s Planning & Public Works Department’s wastewater division, sued the county in August 2023, alleging that she was passed over for jobs a half-dozen times despite being more qualified than a majority of men who were hired.
According to the complaint, Farrar was one of two women working full time in the roughly 50-person department, which had one female supervisor.
The suit was officially dismissed July 1 after the two sides reached a settlement, court records show.
County spokesperson Erin Babbo told The News Tribune that the case was resolved for $80,000.
“Pierce County Planning and Public Works is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees are treated with respect and have equal opportunities to succeed,” Babbo said in a statement.
Attorneys representing Farrar did not respond to messages seeking comment.
The complaint alleged that Farrar, who then had been in her role for seven years, applied to be a mechanics specialist six times since 2018. In the lone instance that the position had been given to a woman, that woman asked to be reassigned after being sexually harassed by her manager, according to the filing.
The complaint also claimed that managers had ignored chauvinistic remarks from men in the workplace.
