Top Baltimore Symphony Oboist Files Sex Harassment Complaint
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The principal oboe player for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is saying #MeToo and has filed a federal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission detailing what she said are years of retaliation after she turned down a sexual advance from a fellow musician.
Katherine Needleman said the problems started after the BSO's concertmaster, Jonathan Carney, asked her for sex in 2005.
"He came to my hotel room on an international tour at 3:30 in the morning and asked me to 'complete our onstage relationship' by having a sexual affair," Needleman said.
Carney strongly denied the allegations through his lawyer in published reports.
Her federal complaint alleges,
"Mr Carney's harassment has been persistent, spanning more than a decade. Mr. Carney has belittled me in front of colleagues, made over the top shows of disrespecting me when I lead the orchestra in tuning, threatened me with violence, and used his body to physically intimidate me."
After Needleman said she rejected Carney's sexual proposal in 2005, she eventually decided to report it to the BSO several months later.
"It was a different time in 2006, I was scared. I told a bunch of my friends, and I said, 'What should I do?' A very smart one told me to write everything down," Needleman said.
Needleman said the human resources director at the time told her she had "acted unprofessionally in telling Mr. Carney that I believed his behavior was sexual harassment." She also says the HR director told her "It was my word against Mr. Carney's,"
Needleman said she "tried to accept the status quo of working in a hostile work environment for some time" while harassment continued.
Then, in 2016, she alleged Carney humiliated her in an incident in front of the entire orchestra. She said she reported the conduct then and again in January 2018 "and explained that I would no longer tolerate this ongoing harassment."
She said the BSO brought in an outside human resources consultant to investigate and wanted her to sign a confidentiality agreement. She said the consultant recommended she undergo mediation with Carney.
After complaints from Needleman's lawyer about how that investigation was handled, the BSO hired an outside attorney to conduct another investigation. Needleman claimed the investigator would not allow colleagues to speak without disclosing their names to Carney.
Needleman's complaint states the BSO destroyed records of her 2006 report and recommended Carney undergo "sensitivity training."
The complaint alleges the BSO has a "complicit and dismissive attitude toward sexual harassment and retaliation."
WJZ reached out to Carney's lawyer Neil Ruther and we have not yet received a comment.
However, Ruther told the Washington Post that the complaint was "utterly frivolous,"
He told the paper,
"The orchestra investigated the incident in 2005 and concluded there was no substance to it. Since that time, Jonathan has done nothing to harm her in any way. This is an egregious abuse of what the #MeToo movement stands for,"
The BSO issued a statement:
"The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is committed to providing all of our employees with a supportive and respectful environment in which to do their work. The BSO does not condone sexual or other harassment and will promptly investigate any allegation of harassment. This commitment is outlined in our policy, which is communicated to all employees.
In January 2018, BSO management was informed about allegations related to an incident that reportedly took place in October 2005. The BSO promptly began an investigation conducted by an outside human resources consultant and subsequently retained McGuire Moore Law to conduct a thorough investigation about the allegations.
The actions we have taken include a comprehensive independent investigation by an outside attorney with significant expertise. The investigation was conducted by Melissa Menkel McGuire from McGuire Moore Law. Ms. McGuire is Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association.
Based on the nature of the allegations, no employees were suspended during the course of the investigation. The report we received following the investigation stated that there was not a hostile work environment. The report further stated that the allegations involved inappropriate behavior, but that there was no evidence that would warrant disciplinary action or termination.
The BSO was originally informed about allegations from October 2005 in December 2006. At that time, the BSO Director of Human Resources investigated the allegations. The comprehensive report that was commissioned in 2018 has indicated that the BSO's handling of the December 2006 complaint of harassment was appropriate,"
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