RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
  • Agents
  • Brokers
  • Teams
  • Marketing
  • Coaching
  • Technology
  • More
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • Consumer
    • National
    • Our Editors
Join Premier
Sign In
RISMedia
  • News
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • Events
  • Power Broker
  • Newsmakers
  • More
    • Publications
    • Education
No Result
View All Result
RISMedia
No Result
View All Result

Judge Dismisses Harassment, Retaliation Claims by Former NAR Employee

At the same time, Roshani Sheth’s allegations that NAR violated an employment contract will go forward, with a chance for her to revive other complaints.

Home Agents
By Jesse Williams
April 25, 2025
Reading Time: 2 mins read
Judge Dismisses Harassment, Retaliation Claims by Former NAR Employee

Judge with paper document pronouncing sentence in a court of law. Judge finds the accused guilty, passes judgement and rules case closed. Hand holding gavel and hitting sound block in close-up

A judge this week dismissed most sexual harassment and discrimination claims by Roshani Sheth, a former employee of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), who has alleged she was mistreated by supervisors and subsequently fired and threatened by NAR.

In an 18-page opinion, Judge Georgia Alexakis of the Northern District of Illinois dismissed four out of five claims Sheth had brought against her former employer, including the accusations of discrimination and retaliation, writing that the former employee had not alleged enough factual evidence to proceed with the lawsuit.

But Sheth’s claim of breach of contract will proceed, based on the assertion that NAR refused to verify her employment or provide any sort of reference to prospective future employers.

In a statement, an NAR spokesperson said that, “(w)e are pleased that NAR’s motion to dismiss was granted for four of five claims in this case, and we will defend against the remaining claim before the Court.”

The spokesperson said NAR would not comment further “on matters of employment.”

Sheth or her attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sheth’s claims go back to 2019, before a New York Times investigation in 2023 unearthed what several former NAR employees characterized as a culture of sexual harassment and retaliation at the organization.

Sheth was interviewed for that story, claiming she had been fired after complaining to former NAR executives Donna Gland and Katie Johnson that her supervisors made disparaging comments about her race, body and marital status. She claimed—both to the Times and in her lawsuit—that she subsequently received anonymous, threatening text messages calling her a “rat,” which she alleges were sent either by NAR or on its behalf.

Alexakis wrote in her dismissal that Sheth had not provided more than circumstantial evidence that these text messages were part of an attempt by NAR to retaliate against her.

“Without supporting facts (namely, who sent the texts and what their relationship with NAR was at that time), Sheth’s conclusory allegation that the texts were sent through NAR’s agents is not enough,” the judge wrote.

And while Alexakis affirmed that Sheth had successfully argued that NAR violated its contractual obligations by not providing her a reference for future jobs, there also was not enough evidence to prove this was part of any sort of illegal retaliation.

“In the absence of a purely temporal connection, Sheth must plead some facts suggesting that NAR had a retaliatory motive when it failed to respond to the reference requests,” the judge wrote. “(I)t is not this Court’s role to connect dots for Sheth.”

As far as hostile work environment claims based on alleged harassment, Alexakis ruled that a settlement agreement Sheth signed with NAR “released any claims based on NAR’s actions during her employment.” Subsequent actions—namely, the harassing text messages and refusal to provide references—are not enough to meet the legal burden of this claim, Alexakis wrote.

On the other hand, Alexakis said that “at this early stage,” NAR’s lack of response to any of Sheth’s prospective future employers—with Sheth claiming the organization would not even verify her basic employment details, costing her at least one job—is enough to move forward with a breach of contract claim.

Sheth will have the opportunity to amend her complaint with more allegations or evidence, however, and attempt to revive the retaliation and harassment complaints, with a deadline of May 13 to file new evidence or arguments.

Tags: discrimination lawsuitFeatureHarassmentHarassment LawsuitKenny ParcellMLSMLSNewsFeedMLSSpotlightNARnar complaintsNAR LawsuitNational Association of REALTORS®Real Estate LawsuitsRoshani Shethsexual harassment lawsuit
ShareTweetShare

Jesse Williams

Jesse Williams is content director for RISMedia Premier.

Related Posts

Fed
Economy

Fed Members Assessing Risks, but ‘Hard Data’ Still Positive

May 9, 2025
PropStream to Exhibit and Speak at 2025 InvestHER Conference
Industry News

PropStream to Exhibit and Speak at 2025 InvestHER Conference

May 9, 2025
Home Equity Dips in Q1, but Remains Near Historic High
Industry News

Home Equity Dips in Q1, but Remains Near Historic High

May 9, 2025
Mortgage
Industry News

Mortgage Mix: Rocket’s Acquisition of Redfin Hits Bump; United Posts Loss

May 9, 2025
Rocket
Agents

Rocket Talks Mr. Cooper and Redfin Deals, Touts AI on Earnings

May 9, 2025
Why ‘Improve-to-Sell’ Programs Are the Future of Real Estate
Agents

Why ‘Improve-to-Sell’ Programs Are the Future of Real Estate

May 9, 2025

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tip of the Day

Educate Your Buyers Not to Try to Time the Market

Learn all the top ways to consult and educate your buyers through the process at the June 16-17 live Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation webinar course. Save $50 today! Secure your spot.

Business Tip of the Day provided by

Recent Posts

  • Fed Members Assessing Risks, but ‘Hard Data’ Still Positive
  • PropStream to Exhibit and Speak at 2025 InvestHER Conference
  • Home Equity Dips in Q1, but Remains Near Historic High

Categories

  • Spotlights
  • Best Practices
  • Advice
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Social Media

The Most Important Real Estate News & Events

Click below to receive the latest real estate news and events directly to your inbox.

Sign Up
By signing up, you agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

About Blog Our Products Our Team Contact Advertise/Sponsor Media Kit Email Whitelist Terms & Policies ACE Marketing Technologies LLC

© 2025 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Premier
  • Reports
  • News
    • Agents
    • Brokers
    • Teams
    • Consumer
    • Marketing
    • Coaching
    • Technology
    • Headliners New
    • Luxury
    • Best Practices
    • National
    • Our Editors
  • Publications
    • Real Estate Magazine
    • Past Issues
    • Custom Covers
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Podcasts
    • Event Coverage
  • Education
    • Get Licensed
    • REALTOR® Courses
    • Continuing Education
    • Luxury Designation
    • Real Estate Tools
  • Newsmakers
    • 2025 Newsmakers
    • 2024 Newsmakers
    • 2023 Newsmakers
    • 2022 Newsmakers
    • 2021 Newsmakers
    • 2020 Newsmakers
    • 2019 Newsmakers
  • Power Broker
    • 2025 Power Broker
    • 2024 Power Broker
    • 2023 Power Broker
    • 2022 Power Broker
    • 2021 Power Broker
    • 2020 Power Broker
    • 2019 Power Broker
  • Join Premier
  • Sign In

© 2025 RISMedia. All Rights Reserved. Design by Real Estate Webmasters.

X