The assaults weren’t with weapons, the woman says, but lotions, soaps and potpourri.

A former Pitt faculty member who has severe allergies to certain strong fragrances is suing the university because, she said, they failed to protect her from colleagues who brought fragrant items into the office or wore perfumed lotions purposely, leading to multiple hospitalizations, including an episode of anaphylaxis.

Dr. Regina Faubel filed the lawsuit Thursday. She was hired by the University of Pittsburgh in 2016 as a postdoctoral research fellow. She then took a full-time faculty position as a research instructor in March 2021.

Faubel, the lawsuit said, is internationally recognized for founding a new field of research in novel epilepsy mechanisms.

The lawsuit alleges her contract was not renewed after December 2022 following her yearslong complaints that co-workers were purposely bringing smelly substances into the lab and her work areas, triggering onset reactive asthma.

University of Pittsburgh spokesman Chuck Finder said Saturday he could not comment on the lawsuit.

Faubel’s reactive asthma began in 2019 and is triggered by certain chemicals, the complaint said.

Her symptoms, the lawsuit said, include extreme difficulty breathing; anaphylaxis; swelling; headaches; neuropathy; muscle, joint and airway pain; stomach ailments; dizziness; and loss of consciousness.

“If the reaction to triggering chemicals is severe enough, Dr. Faubel could die of anaphylaxis or of secondary injuries from the immunological response,” the lawsuit said. “Due to the refusal of the university to address exposure and harassment, the disability was gradually exacerbated and aggravated.”

Faubel said in her federal complaint that Pitt failed to implement accommodations and failed to correct an extremely hostile work environment in which, she said, her colleagues purposely left strong-smelling lotions, perfumes and even oranges in her lab, knowing they make her ill.

Not all scented items cause Faubel’s reaction, the complaint said. Certain hand sanitizers and lotions without fragrance can be used safely around her.

In fall 2019, Faubel had a reactive asthma attack triggered by colleagues eating oranges in the lab area, which, she said, violated safety rules.

After Faubel reported the disability to her supervisor, that person said they would ban strongly scented items from the shared lab spaces, the complaint said, but it was not enforced.

Faubel said she was hospitalized several times from 2019 to 2022 because of exposures to triggering chemicals at work, both accidentally and purposefully.

“Each triggering exposure, both intentional and unintentional, caused Dr. Faubel’s disability to worsen and cause more significant reactions,” the lawsuit said. “Intentional exposures were usually drastically higher in concentration and occurred frequently without giving Dr. Faubel’s immune system time for recovery.”

According to the lawsuit, Faubel bought a detector to measure volatile organic compounds in the air of her lab. She noted, the complaint said, that, over many days, when she wasn’t in the lab, the concentration in the air remained at baseline.

“On the day that coworkers knew she would be at work, however, the VOC concentration would increase suddenly and drastically, even on days when coworkers expected her to come in but she was too sickened from exposure to leave the house.”

Often, the complaint said, large areas of the lab were flooded with fragrance.

The lawsuit alleges four of Faubel’s colleagues repeatedly harassed her by bringing items into the shared workspace. One of those colleagues took items, including scented hand sanitizer, fragrant lotions, oranges, potpourri, scented candles, soaps, room sprays and perfume, the lawsuit said.

Signs in the lab asking that the area remain fragrance-free were ripped down, and Faubel said her office and lab areas were polluted with scented allergens.

In some instances, Faubel was forced to abandon her experiments to escape the smells and symptoms they caused.

On Nov. 11, 2021, the lawsuit said, Faubel planned to check on the well-being of her animals in the colony when, as she crossed a locker room, she realized the air was saturated with a chemical that was penetrating her mask.

She escaped from the room, the lawsuit said, and collapsed with an asthma attack and anaphylaxis.

Faubel reported that incident to campus police.

On Dec. 10, 2021, Pitt said it would grant a number of accommodations for Faubel’s disability, including a fragrance-free environment; coordinating with staff to use the microscope room; and the use of fragrance-free cleaners, the lawsuit said.

However, the university did not implement any of the accommodations and did not take action against her colleagues who harassed her, according to the lawsuit.

Among the incidents, the lawsuit said, someone used Faubel’s university email address to sign up for Bath and Body Works advertisements, causing her great distress. Several times in August 2022, her work areas were flooded with Bath and Body Works lotions, the lawsuit said.

In November 2022, Faubel filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A month later, she learned her full-time faculty appointment was not renewed.

The lawsuit includes claims for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, including a failure to accommodate her needs; hostile work environment; and retaliation.

Faubel is seeking lost wages, back pay and punitive damages.

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