Former NAR employee says she was sexually harassed and fired

A former employee of the National Association of Realtors who accused the industry association of discrimination and retaliation has returned to court with reinforcements.

Roshani Sheth, who worked for a NAR subsidiary from 2014 to 2019, filed a lawsuit in June alleging retaliation after she was fired because of her complaints of discrimination and sexual assault.

In July, the brokerage group responded with a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that Sheth's lawsuit was “a flimsy attempt to assert baseless claims against the NAR.”

Sheth, who had been representing herself, then hired an attorney to file an amended complaint reiterating her allegations. Sheth claims she was continually subjected to “offensive” and “objectively offensive” comments from her supervisor about women in the workplace and was ultimately fired after complaining of harassment and discrimination.

She also claims that after she was terminated, she was the victim of cyberstalking, including text messages calling her a “rat” and telling her to “kill herself.” Sheth says she was unable to find new employment because she was unable to obtain an unbiased reference from NAR, a violation of a previously signed settlement agreement.

In her amended complaint, Sheth goes into much more detail about the harassment she allegedly experienced at the hands of Matthew Embrescia, president of strategic partner Second Generation, which operates several of NAR's domain names.

Sheth claims that during their collaboration, Embrescia made “inappropriate” comments about her marital status and her body and made sexual advances to her in May 2015, which she rejected.

Her complaints about Embrescia's behavior were dismissed by both her supervisor and human resources, the lawsuit says.

Sheth claims that her supervisor, Ken Burlington, denied her a promised promotion in March 2019 despite giving her a “stellar” performance review a month earlier, and that Burlington justified the lack of promotion by citing her “inability to work effectively” with Embrescia.

A series of meetings with human resources only further soured her relationship with Burlington, the lawsuit says. A month after human resources closed a formal complaint filed by Sheth in June 2019, Sheth was placed on a performance improvement plan despite a positive performance review less than a year earlier, her lawsuit says.

The performance plan was a “blatant” example of retaliation and related to Sheth's working relationships with Burlington and Embrescia, who “relentlessly discriminated against” her, the lawsuit says. Burlington retired in 2020 after 20 years at NAR, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The lawsuit comes as the NAR tries to move forward after several difficult years.

Last month, the group announced Nykia Wright as its permanent CEO. Wright had served as interim CEO following the departure of Bob Goldberg, who resigned along with several other NAR leaders following allegations of a toxic corporate culture and sexual harassment by former President Kenny Parcell.

Parcell was replaced by Tracey Kasper, who only lasted five months in office after NAR staff circulated a letter claiming she was well aware of the hostile climate that existed within the organization.

A NAR spokesman declined to comment on the details of the case.

Less well-known was the resignation of Donna Gland, former senior vice president of talent, late last year after 38 years at NAR. Not only is Gland accused of ignoring a memo detailing workplace problems, but she is alleged to have repeatedly referred to Sheth as an immigrant during a meeting in which Sheth outlined her grievances with Burlington and Gland. Sheth is of Indian descent and was born near Chicago.

In October 2019, Sheth was fired from Gland after a month-long medical leave. The organization said she had failed to meet “the expectations” of the improvement plan, the lawsuit says.

Sheth also claims that Burlington, who frequently made “objectively offensive” remarks about women in her presence, including using terms such as “slut,” continued to denigrate her to co-workers who could have personally recommended Sheth.

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In July 2020, Sheth filed a discrimination claim with the Illinois Department of Human Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the lawsuit. After the agency took over Sheth's case, she claims, she was subjected to threatening text messages telling her to “shut up,” calling her a “rat” and containing an acronym for “kill you.”

On March 20, 2024, the EEOC informed Sheth of her right to sue.

A lawyer for Sheth did not respond to a request for comment.