The reality star claims she was sexually harassed by her supervisors from 2017 to 2018.
Angelina Pivarnick is suing the New York City Fire Department.
The Jersey Shore star, who also serves as an EMT for the FDNY, claims that she was subjected to a sexually hostile work environment by two of her supervisors between 2017 and 2018, according to a lawsuit obtained by ET. Both supervisors are lieutenants within FDNY's Bureau of Emergency Medical Services.
The lawsuit claims, "The sexual harassment that Pivarnick experienced included repeated and unwelcome sexual advances, degrading comments about her body, vulgar sexual comments, inappropriate questions about her private relationships and, in one instance, the groping of an intimate part of her body without her consent."
First named in the lawsuit is Lt. Jonathan Schechter. Pivarnick claims that on Sept. 15, 2017, Schechter allegedly texted her: "Your a** looked amazing and I wish I wasn’t working or in uniform because I definitely would’ve kissed those amazing lips.” The lawsuit goes on to claim that on May 3, 2018, “Pivarnick met Schechter in a parking lot outside of the station, he grabbed and squeezed her buttocks, putting his hand so low that he also made contact with her vaginal area. Pivarnick made it clear that he should never touch her. After she left, he texted her: 'That a**! If you only knew the thoughts in my mind.'"
The lawsuit alleges that in two separate incidents in 2016 and 2017, Pivarnick was injured on the job, which resulted in her being assigned "light duty" at the Rossville fire station. During this time, Pivarnick claims she was sexually harassed by Lt. David Rudnitzky, who had supervisory authority over her. "Rudnitzky frequently made sexual comments to Pivarnick, both in front of Pivarnick's co-workers and when no one else was present," the lawsuit alleges.
The document states that in April 2018, Pivarnick filed a complaint regarding Rudnitzky's alleged sexual harassment with the FDNY's Equal Employment Opportunity Office. Pivarnick claims in the suit that because she came forward to the FDNY with her allegations, she has since received retaliation from the fire station.
ET has reached out to an attorney for Pivarnick and a spokesperson for the FDNY for comment.
Reporting by Brendon Geoffrion.
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