A Midlands lawyer and former Lexington County Council member fostered a toxic culture of sexism and sexual harassment at his law office, according to a federal lawsuit filed by a former employee.
“I am your king. I am your god,” Lexington County Councilman Billy R. Oswald liked to tell his female employees, according to the lawsuit filed Sept. 8.
“You will do what I tell you to do as long as you work here.”
A former office manager is now suing Oswald, a prominent personal injury lawyer and Midlands political figure, alleging that he fostered a toxic culture of sexism and abuse at his law firm, Oswald & Burnside.
Among other charges, the lawsuit claims that the 74-year-old Oswald groped the employee, called female clients and workers “b-----s,” and performed “sexual acts” with prostitutes in the office conference room during work hours.
Oswald said that he had “no comment” when contacted by The State.
“We stand by the allegations in the complaint,” said the former employee’s attorney, Jack Cohoon.
The former employee alleges that Oswald, whose held multiple elected and appointed positions in the Midlands, created a workplace swirling with “sexual talk, innuendo, and gossip.”
The employee, who is not being named by The State because the lawsuit includes allegations that she is a victim of sexual assault, started working for Oswald around 2009. Hired as a paralegal, the employee eventually became an unofficial office manager at the Oswald & Burnside law firm with...
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