The Oregon State Apprenticeship and Training Council awarded Jennifer Smith her journey-level card Oct. 15 for electrical line work, ending a controversial year during which Smith claims her card was unfairly withheld.
Smith had said that gender discrimination and sexual harassment were behind her failure to graduate from her apprenticeship with the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB). The apprenticeship council has cited poor monthly progress reports given by Smith’s superiors, but in dramatic testimony in a hearing before the state’s Bureau of Labor and Industries, Smith accused one of these superiors of sexual assault.