A former Chrysler auto worker has filed a lawsuit against the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, claiming quid pro quo sexual harassment, gender discrimination and wrongful termination. The woman says she was fired in retaliation for ending a workplace dating relationship with the son of a UAW official.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the woman was a member of the UAW Local 51 at Chrysler's Mack Avenue plant in Detroit when she began dating the son of one of the union leaders in December 2007. The Detroit News reports that the father was co-director of the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center as recently as last summer. The son is currently listed on the training center's website as being in charge of training and tuition assistance programs.

After the couple broke up in March 2010, the woman was summarily fired.

Hiring, promotions and firings based on sexual relationships are considered quid pro quo sexual harassment

Apparently as the result of the relationship, the woman had been promoted and given a special assignment, which included a raise from $30 an hour to $40.35 an hour.

"[The boyfriend] had told the plaintiff repeatedly that as long as she was with him her job in special assignment was secure," reads the complaint. "[The plaintiff] was terminated because she is a female who refused to continue a sexual relationship with [him]."

Even though the woman's career initially benefitted from her relationship with the union official's son, the promotion itself was technically a form of quid pro quo sexual harassment, as was her termination after the relationship ended. "Quid pro quo" is a Latin phrase meaning "this for that." In the context of sexual harassment law, it refers to situations where a person in power conditions job decisions on a subordinate's willingness to engage in sexual activity.

Immediately after the breakup, a security guard came to the woman's office, handed her two packing boxes and told her to leave the building immediately. According to the lawsuit, the order for the woman's termination came directly from Solidarity House, the UAW's headquarters in Detroit.

The woman is seeking unspecified damages for lost wages and benefits and for emotional distress. A spokesperson for the UAW could not be reached for comment by the Detroit News.

Source: The Detroit News, "Chrysler autoworker accuses UAW of sexual harassment," Robert Snell, February 16, 2011