Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Harassment at Fort Worth Investment Firm

A Fort Worth attorney claims that the recent tidal wave of claims about sexual misconduct in the workplace is evidence that victims finally feel they will be heard.

Kelly Decker, of the law firm Decker Pool, represents a former administrative and personal assistant who filed a gender discrimination lawsuit that alleges sexual harassment at a Fort Worth investment firm.

The suit, which was preceded by a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in summer 2016, was filed in May 2017 and names two defendants – Dale Rogers, and the company he founded and is Chairman of, Rogers Wealth Group.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Megan Raetz, seeks monetary damages between $200,000 and $1,000,000.

“If my client is awarded money that is not going to fix her situation, but at least she won’t have said, ‘I’m going to let it go. I’m not going to do anything about this.’” Kelly Decker said. “So she stands to gain her pride back and she has the chance to possibly do some good for other women.”

According to Raetz, the former assistant, she was hired by Rogers Wealth Group in December 2014 as an administrative assistant.

Raetz claims she was told if she worked hard she would be eligible for promotions.

“She was also told she should be overly attentive to Dale Rogers and to dress as he asked,” the lawsuit claims.

Dale Rogers later promoted Raetz to his personal assistant and gave her a raise, according to the court filing.

The complaint goes on to detail 18 specific, unwanted advances reportedly made by Rogers.

“As his personal assistant, she was told to sit for pictures in his office, which she refused, and to escort him to and from his car, always allowing him to walk behind her and make comments about the fit of her clothes and her back side,” the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit claims that Rogers made weekly, unwanted comments about Raetz, including "you make those pants look good", "you probably have knee high leather boots in your trunk", and "you must dominate the (soccer) field and yeah, probably dominate a lot of other things."

In addition to the comments, Raetz claims that Rogers would text her after hours, offer to buy clothes for her if she would wear them for him, propositioned her for trips to Las Vegas on his private jet “and made constant sexual innuendo that he wanted more.”

The lawsuit alleges that Rogers would touch Raetz inappropriately, as well.

“Mr. Rogers, who was always looking for any excuse to touch or hug Ms. Raetz, took liberties with his hand and put his whole palm on her buttock, leaving it there until she moved away,” Raetz claims in her lawsuit.

Beyond the unwanted contact, Raetz claims that Rogers would put himself in a physical position that made her feel trapped.

“On multiple occasions, Mr. Rogers trapped her between desks with his body. On one occasion, he shut the door to Ms. Raetz's office and started asking her about what she was doing after work, offered her money for dinner and drinks and told her not to tell anyone, especially her husband,” the lawsuit alleges.

Raetz claims that she complained about this behavior to three different supervisors “who told her not to make it a big deal of it or ignored her.”

In the spring of 2016, Raetz alleges that she was disciplined for having a “bad attitude” and, soon after, quit her job.

Attorney Kelly Decker said her client is hopeful that this lawsuit can prove that these claims did, in fact, happen and that what reportedly happened is wrong.

“People think, ‘Well why didn't you just say ‘No?’ Why didn't you just walk out of the room?’ But the truth is when those situations happen people are stunned, especially when the perpetrator is in such a high position of power,” Decker said. “What that implies to me is that it is just OK to treat people that way. And what it implies to the person who is receiving the treatment is that they have no control over how they were treated, so that even if she had said or done something more significant - walk out of the room, or scream and yell or something to that effect - nothing would've happened. It would continue to happen.”

In an official response filed with the court in June 2017, an attorney for Dale Rogers generally denies the accusations detailed in the complaint.

With respect to certain, specific claims Rogers’ attorney invoked separate defenses.

“Defendant denies Plaintiff was restrained or touched in the manner alleged in her pleadings, in the event Plaintiff proves there was such restraint or touching, Defendant invokes the defense of consent,” attorney George Haratsis, of the law firm McDonald Sanders, noted.

In response to a request asking for comment for this story, Haratsis declined an interview.

“We do not believe it is appropriate to comment on pending litigation. We look forward to presenting our case in court,” Haratsis stated.

Depositions in preparation for the trial, which is set for Summer 2018, are taking place this week and next week.

“The truth of what happened in this case will work itself out,” Decker said. “The system will allow for her to get up and tell her story and for him to get up and tell his story. And at the end of the day the jury will look at both of them and determine who is more credible.”

Decker said she is confident this case will not become a matter of ‘He said, She said,’ because it will, in fact, become a matter of ‘He said, She said, She said.’ That is because another, former employee of Rogers Wealth Group has filed a separate, almost identical harassment lawsuit against the company and its Chairman.