A woman has filed a lawsuit against KBR, a well-known military contractor with a history of complaints of a hostile work environment. The Texas woman's story, which includes being raped, is so severe it prompted a change to sexual harassment law in 2009.

Federal lawmakers reportedly passed a measure that prohibited military contractors that receive over $1 million from the Department of Defense to require employees to resolve matters including sexual harassment through arbitration.

According to the 26-year-old woman's lawsuit, she requested to be transferred to Baghdad in 2005 after being sexually harassed by her supervisor in Houston. Once she got there, she says she had to put up with harassment and catcalls. Then, she says, she was drugged by a KBR firefighter and raped in her room, leaving her with bruises and other injuries.

The woman's attorney says after she told KBR officials about the rape, she was held for several hours under armed guard before finally managing to call her father. According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit further claims female employees like her were scared into not reporting sexual harassment or assault, or were even fired for doing so.

The firefighter, a defendant in the woman's lawsuit, filed a countersuit against the woman and claims the sex was consensual. KBR also defends its track record with responding to complaints of sexual harassment or assault.

But the woman's attorney paints a different picture, claiming KBR did everything it could to keep the conduct a secret and forcing many female employees to endure a hostile work environment.

The woman also sued KBR's former parent company, Halliburton Co. It was not reported what sort of damages she is seeking. The defendants had initially claimed the case should be settled through arbitration, but an appeals court reportedly allowed the lawsuit. That led to the 2009 measure.

Source: Washington Post, "Attorney tells jurors sexual harassment was longtime problem for military contractor KBR," 14 June 2011