BEVERLY — Former Beverly Airport manager Gloria Bouillon has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination alleging she was sexually harassed by an employee who worked for a tenant of the airport and that the city of Beverly and the airport commission failed to respond adequately.
Bouillon’s attorney said on Tuesday Bouillon filed the complaint before she resigned as airport manager in October. The attorney, Michaela May, declined to name the person who was accused of sexual harassment or to release details of Bouillon’s complaint.
“It was a case of third-party harassment and it’s our position that the city did not respond adequately,” May said. She said state law requires employers to take “affirmative action” when they are notified of third-party sexual harassment.
Beverly Airport is owned by the city and has several businesses that lease space as tenants. Bouillon was a city employee.
In a statement, Mayor Mike Cahill denied the city did anything wrong. He said Bouillon reported to the city in July of 2021 that a non-city employee who worked for a tenant of the airport was repeatedly using “inappropriate and gendered language” when referring to Bouillon or discussing her with other people.
Cahill said the city immediately addressed the allegations, hired an outside law firm to conduct an investigation, notified the airport tenant employee that such conduct is strictly prohibited, and “out of an abundance of caution” issued a no-trespass order in relation to the airport administration building.
“At all times, the city undertook to work with its airport manager to address her concerns and to ensure there was a safe and lawful work environment,” Cahill said. He said Bouillon notified the city in October of 2022 that she resigned to take a position elsewhere.
“The city denies any wrongdoing and is disappointed that the airport manager decided to bring a claim against the city,” Cahill said in the statement. “The city and the Airport Commission wish her well in her new position.”
Bouillon declined to comment, referring questions to her attorney. A spokesman for the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination said complaints are not publicly available until a disposition or finding is issued.
Bouillon stepped down in October as airport manager after four years on the job. In a previous interview, she said she left to pursue other opportunities. But after further questions from The Salem News this week, Bouillon confirmed that she had filed a sexual harassment complaint.
According to minutes of Beverly Airport Commission meetings, the commission met several times in executive session this year to discuss “complaints or charges brought against an individual airport tenant employee.” The commission also met in executive session to discuss a Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination complaint against the commission and the city of Beverly.
The city refused to release the minutes of the commission’s executive sessions, saying they are exempt from the state’s public records law because their disclosure “may defeat the lawful purpose of the executive session.”
Paul Trefry, the acting chairman of the airport commission, referred questions to the city.
City Councilor-at-Large Hannah Bowen this week requested the council’s public services subcommittee meet to discuss the situation at the airport. Bowen said she did not know any details about the complaint filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. But she said she has concerns about the fact that the airport commission has been “all male” for a while.
“To hear that there may have been other things going on, that there were challenges for the staff, makes me think it’s important going forward to have these conversations in public,” Bowen said.
Bowen also noted that, in addition to the need to hire a new airport manager, four of the nine seats on the airport commission are vacant. Two of the seats are reserved for Danvers residents. Cahill filled one of the vacancies last week when he appointed Standley Street resident Jason Reulet to serve on the commission, subject to approval by the City Council. The commissioners are volunteers.
Bouillon was credited with overseeing a period of growth and improvement at Beverly Airport, which is now the second-busiest general aviation airport in Massachusetts, behind Hanscom Field. That growth has also brought an increasing number of complaints about noise from people who live near the airport, which is located in Beverly, Danvers and Wenham.
The city has advertised the airport manager job with a salary range of $100,000 to $110,000. A company called Airport Solutions Group is helping with day-to-day operations until a new manager is hired.
Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.