CRANBERRY TWP — A second former employee is suing MSA Safety Inc., alleging the company violated his civil rights and discriminated against him for having a disability.

Patrick Mullen, of Wampum, claims he was subjected to inappropriate workplace behavior, his disabilities were not accommodated and he was retaliated against due to those factors in the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

He is the second person in the past three months to sue MSA following termination by the company. Abigail Mullen filed a suit in late December.

Mark Deasy, a spokesman for MSA, did not respond to a request for comment.

According to the civil complaint, Mullen, who was at the time a shift supervisor who had been employed at MSA for eight years, began experiencing instances of inappropriate workplace behavior in late 2019. The lawsuit claims his immediate supervisor called him a derogatory term for gay men and insinuated he and two other male employees touched themselves together.

“All of these terms were sexually charged and inappropriate for a workplace environment,” the lawsuit claims.

Mullen asserts he reported these instances to a human resources representative, who allegedly replied, “What do you want me to do about it?” He then tried to report the statements to a production manager, according to the lawsuit, who said Mullen had to get along with his supervisor and added he didn't want to hear the statements.

In March 2020, Mullen took a two-week leave via the Family and Medical Leave Act due to his “work-based anxiety,” the lawsuit states. When he returned, his supervisor allegedly asked, “Is your head good? Did you get your head right?”

Later that year, after traveling to North Carolina for a work event, Mullen was told he had to quarantine. He extended his leave via the FMLA during his quarantine, the lawsuit states, and was placed on a performance improvement plan when he returned Aug. 11.

The lawsuit claims Mullen asked to be moved to a different department, so he didn't have to work with the supervisor, but asserts he was rebuffed on that request.

On Sept. 24, Mullen was terminated, the suit states.

Mullen claims MSA discriminated against him on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, failed to accommodate his disability as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and created a hostile work environment in violation of the PHRA. He also claims the company retaliated against him under those laws and the FMLA, and seeks back pay, front pay and compensatory and punitive damages.