A federal civil rights lawsuit filed on behalf of an employee of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, who claims she was the victim of a hostile work environment, has been resolved, according to a court order filed Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines in Johnstown.

The lawsuit was filed by Pittsburgh attorney Nicholas W. Kennedy on behalf of Emily Irvin of Windber, who worked as a resource ranger at Blue Knob State Park during the past three years.

Irvin contended in her federal complaint that she was repeatedly sexually harassed by one of her supervisors and that the park operations manager, James McCorkle, ignored her reports of harassment and retaliated against her by lowering her job performance rating and by refusing to send her to training sessions.

In November 2022, she took her case to the state Bureau of Equal Employment Opportunity.

In her lawsuit, she reported the state agency concluded that her underlying claim of sexual harassment was “substantiated.”

The state agency then suspended and demoted McCorkle, contending that between March 2021 and October 2022, he “should have known that sexual harassment and other inappropriate behaviors were taking place.”

Action was taken because the manager failed to report the allegations of sexual harassment to his chain of command, a violation of departmental policy.

Last December, Irvin filed her federal lawsuit, which charged that DCNR created a hostile work environment that discriminated against her in terms of compensation and conditions of her employment.

The situation, according to the lawsuit, was in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The lawsuit also charged that the retaliation against Irvin violated the federal Civil Rights Act.

It finally concluded that DCNR’s discrimination against Irvin “was motivated by her sex.”

The Irvin case was referred to U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan in Pittsburgh for review.

Lenihan eventually held a mediation session and reported to Haines that the case was resolved but also noted that papers outlining the resolution still had to be drawn up.

Irvin’s story began in August 2020 when McCorkle was hired as park operations manager.

In March 2021, Michael Rosey was named the park’s maintenance supervisor.

Rosey, she charged, began to verbally harass her by repeatedly complimenting Irvin on her looks, the way she dressed and the smell of her perfume.

The comments, the lawsuit reported, also became more specific.

At the end of the 2021 park season, Irvin met with McCorkle for her evaluation, during which time she once again complained about the harassment by the maintenance supervisor.

She contended that he responded by dropping her job rating.

In March 2022, at the start of a new season, McCorkle allegedly addressed the female employees of the park about the situation, stating, “Girls, we’re not going to have that drama that we did last year, right?”

The “drama,” the lawsuit stated, referred to female staff’s complaints about the maintenance supervisor.

In 2022, the harassment continued and in one incident, Irvin reported she attempted to exit a closet. Rosey, she contended, blocked the doorway.

In October 2022, she continued to tell McCorkle about the harassment and in April 2023, she sent an email to McCorkle stating, “I don’t think I have an equal playing field with the guys.”

McCorkle in a phone call denied her complaint.

She then took her case to the state Equal Employment Opportunity Bureau.

A spokesman for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Wesley Robinson, confirmed Thursday the lawsuit had been resolved.

He stated, however, “I don’t think anybody will be commenting on it. We are not going to comment on it.”

Irvin’s attorney, Kennedy, did not return calls, or an email seeking comment.

Irvin’s lawsuit named only DCNR as a defendant.

In its answer to the lawsuit, the department commented on the charges made throughout the complaint by stating, “after reasonable investigation, Defendant lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the truth of these allegations. Therefore these allegations are denied and strict proof is demanded.”

When it came to the plaintiff’s statement that the bureau concluded the underlying claim of sexual harassment has been substantiated, DCNR stated, “The Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Equal Employment Opportunities Investigations response letter is a document that speaks for itself. To the extent the allegations contained in (the complaint) characterize or summarize the content of the document, the same are denied.”

McCorkle still works for the department, stated Robinson.

He said he could not comment whether Irvin and Rosey are still employed. A spokesperson for Blue Knob also would not comment on the two employees.