Fulton County DA Paul Howard (left) and Mario Williams of Williams Oinonen.

A second female employee has filed a lawsuit accusing Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard of sexual harassment, claiming she was marginalized and threatened with termination after she did not succumb to his advances.

Tisa Grimes, the DA's former human resources director, claimed Howard made multiple off-color remarks, repeated solicitations for sex and eventually groped her shortly after she was hired in 2018, according to the suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Atlanta. The suit contends that Grimes repeatedly rejected Howard's advances and avoided being alone with him whenever possible.

Grimes is represented by Mario Williams of Atlanta's Williams Oinonen. Williams also represents another woman, former aide Cathy Carter, who made similar harassment claims against Howard in a federal suit filed  last month.

Carter also claims the DA relentlessly pursued her, combining promises of better-paying positions and legal help for her son—who has a history of arrests and convictions—with the threat of disciplinary action in order to secure sexual favors from her.

Both women are single mothers whom Grimes' suit suggests were particular targets of the DA.

"The facts demonstrate that women under Paul Howard's authority are suffering from a toxic environment of sexual harassment and misconduct in which women do not feel physically or emotionally safe," Williams said Wednesday. "These women want Howard to resign, and he should do so; nearly 30 years in office is too long."

On Wednesday, Paul Howard's campaign spokesman, Jeff Dickerson, called Grimes' lawsuit "an obvious political ploy filed on the eve of an election with the intent to influence the outcome."

"Fulton County funded an independent investigation by private counsel who interviewed several witnesses referred by Ms. Grimes, and not one of her own witnesses, or any other witness, corroborated her tales," Dickerson said.  "The U.S. District Court will likewise find zero evidence, but as Ms. Grimes is aware, that finding won't come until after Election Day."  

Williams said Fulton County has never disclosed to him or to Grimes the results of any investigation related to her harassment complaint. He said the only investigation he is aware of is still ongoing.

Howard's counsel, Anita Wallace Thomas—a partner at the Atlanta offices of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough—couldn't be reached for comment.

Grimes' suit calls for Howard to be removed as DA "by vote, resignation, or termination." Howard is currently campaigning for his seventh term. The primary, delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to take place June 9.

Grimes wants to be restored to her former post as human resources director, her attorney said.  She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal fees.

Grimes said in her suit that, after she rejected the DA's advances, she was transferred from Howard's main office in the Fulton County Courthouse to another building and stripped of her job title and duties.

In her suit, Grimes said that she was never told what her new job duties were and was routinely excluded from office meetings and presentations. Grimes said she subsequently heard that Howard intended to fire her.

Last September, Grimes was notified that Howard intended to demote her and cut her salary by $13,000. The DA never followed through, according to the suit, which contends the threatened demotion was an attempt to pressure Grimes into having sex with Howard. But the alleged threat prompted Grimes to lodge a sexual harassment complaint against Howard with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and with the Fulton County Office of Diversity and Civil Rights Compliance.

The lawsuit also challenges the county civil rights compliance office's handling of Grimes' complaint, claiming that the office farmed out the investigation to a "prestigious employment defense firm," which subjected Grimes to what the suit contends was a lengthy  personal interrogation that barely addressed her complaint.

When Williams rejected a request that Grimes sit for a second, four-hour deposition, the suit claims that county compliance office personnel accused Grimes of obstructing their investigation.

Grimes subsequently filed a complaint against the compliance office with the county ethics board. That complaint is still pending.