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An engineer at a Collins Aerospace facility in Maryland has sued the company, alleging discrimination after being demoted from her job.
A lawsuit filed last week by Anna Tran, a former senior engineering manager at the company, said she was demoted from her managerial role at the company because of her gender and disability. Before her demotion, Tran had climbed the company ladder for 23 years to reach her managerial role, the Capital Gazette reported.
Tran alleges the discrimination began when Julie Davids became her supervisor in 2018. According to the lawsuit, Davids dismissed Tran’s inputs, demoted her within three months of becoming her supervisor, and gave preferential treatment to her male counterparts.
In one of their meetings, Tran said Davids told her she should seek non-managerial roles after she disclosed her disabilities, including her chronic neck and back pain.
The lawsuit claims Davids also replaced Tran with a less-experienced man and allowed him to keep his managerial title after he stepped down from the job because it was difficult. Davids did not allow Tran to keep her title after she was demoted, the lawsuit said.
After meeting with Davids to discuss her demotion, Tran claims her annual merit increases were cut in half. Tran’s lawsuit seeks above $75,000 in damages.
Davids was not a defendant in the lawsuit, and the Capital Gazette could not reach her for comment on the story.
Attorneys for Collins Aerospace also did not respond to the Capital Gazette’s requests for comment. A judge has approved a request from lawyers representing the company to investigate the allegations, court records show.
