Honeywell International faces a suit from a former vice president who said she was hired to increase diversity at the executive level but contends she was hired as window dressing.

Natasha Chandler brought claims for fraud, breach of contract and for discrimination under state and federal law, and asserts a whistleblower claim against the company, where she worked from July 2015 to December 2016 as vice president for human resources at a division of the company. She claims Honeywell solicited her from her former job at Merck & Co. in order to implement diversity strategies. But after starting on the job, she said she came to question the sincerity of the company's commitment to remedy past discrimination, and the company began to retaliate against her for carrying out her duties, according to the suit.

As Chandler began to express her opinions and carry out her duties, Honeywell retaliated by questioning her character, integrity and honesty, falsely suggesting she was not qualified, the suit claims. The suit was filed in state Superior Court in Essex County on July 17 and removed to federal court on Wednesday.