Co-Founder War Zone Workers Foundation
Stewart Hoffer, her attorney, will also be present.
This Episode Was Previously Broadcast On: Feb 27, 2008 – Please tune in!
Tracey Barker has filed a lawsuit against Halliburton/KBR, claiming that she had been sexually abused and harassed while working for them at Camp Hope and Basra in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 respectively. As a military woman and mother of five, Barker spent time in Iraq working for a Halliburton/KBR company while her husband was deployed. Tracy claims that a State Dept employee as well as a Halliburton/KBR subsidiary sexually harassed and abused her while she was there. Her employer ordered her to live in a living container in which she was continually monitored, even when she went to the bathroom, she claims. As if she were a prisoner, food was delivered to her and she was refused medical assistance and communication with the outside world. During her time at Camp Basra, she claims that she was taken to the a staging place in the middle in Iraq, stripped of her PPE, and forced to ride in such a food cart for 19 hours back to the camp.
Wearing the same outfit as when she had been assaulted, Barker was paraded around a public dining area several days later, evidently to humiliate her. Even after all of this time, she was still denied access to medical care.
It wasn’t long before Tracy was using Kevin Rodgers’ cell phone. Galen Barker, Tracy’s husband, claims that he was contacted by Rodgers on his wife’s behalf. After that, he made an attempt to reach Kuwait in rescuing his wife to Iraq. Although Halliburton/KBR as well as the State Department continued to hold Tracy against her will, they were unable to bring her out of detention. Dr. David Pakkal of both the State Department rescued her and promptly transported her to Kuwait.
Later that year in July, Tracy began receiving calls from those other Halliburton employees who’d experienced sexual harassment & rape while serving in Iraq. Because she was the first victim to come forward, the State Department investigators and the Halliburton EAP specialist believed Tracy could help other victims of gang rape, so they shared her home phone number with them.
When Tracy returned home, she enlisted the help of government officials in her quest for retribution. As far as civil rights are concerned, the State Department has not taken any disciplinary action against the official who has acknowledged the State Department investigators a few of the incidents Tracy outlined. This assailant is still employed by the State Department, as well as the U. S. Attorney for Eastern District in Virginia has decided not to file an indictment against him. By offering Tracy $3,500 to drop assault charges against a State Department employee, the agency avoided having to sack the employee. Tracy turned down the offer and is continuing her fight for justice, not just for herself but also for those who have been subjected to the same or comparable conditions while serving their country in foreign countries.
As for her former company, Halliburton as well as its subsidiaries sought that Tracy’s complaint against them be addressed through arbitration, which they believe is required under her employment contract. An arbitrator chosen from a pool of arbitrators decides the matter in secret, without the presence of a judge or jury. For this reason, the federal district judge as in Southern District in Texas recently accepted Halliburton’s motion to compel Tracy to continue her arbitration against her former company and its subsidiaries. This is the first time Tracy has retained a lawyer to represent her in both the Halliburton lawsuit and the State Department investigation.
Tracy wanted to make sure that our political representatives were aware of her and other people’s experiences while they are still pursuing justice for themselves. That’s why Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina invited Tracy to appear before such a congressional subcommittee in December 19, 2007. Even though Tracy was also unable to appear in person at that meeting, she did supply the committee with some documents, including a sworn testimony from Letty Surman, a previous Halliburton/KBR employee who worked in human resources and was a first-hand witness to some of Tracy’s traumatic events. By way of Surman’s affidavit, Tracy’s job history was laid out. In her spare time, Jana Crowder, a Knoxville, Tennessee resident, wants to help contractors returned back overseas gain aid in obtaining benefits. Tracy was in touch with her. Thus, the War Zone Workers foundation was formed by Jana and Tracy with the goal of assisting Americans as well as legal permanent residents working overseas for federal contractors, corporations, as well as government entities to obtain benefits under existing laws intended for their protection and provide resources such that contractors could indeed target is met medical or mental health healthcare upon their return home..
Tracey Barker is also collaborating with Utah Congressman Rob Bishop on a bill to guarantee that contractors who return to their home state have access to medical care under their business.
Thirteen trials until verdict have been first-chaired by Tracy Barker’s attorney, Stewart Hoffer, in various state or federal court across America. For his part, Mr. Hoffer has successfully defended a wide range of clients across the United States, including those based out of his native state of Texas as well as those based out of other states.
According to Mr. Hoffer’s peers, the “Texas Super Lawyer” designation has been awarded to him on three occasions in employment litigation & twice for commercial litigation during the past five straight years. For the second time in 2004, “H” Texas Magazine ranked Mr. Hoffer one of Houston’s top lawyers — this time for commercial disputes.
