Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been sued for sexual discrimination by James T. Hayes Jr., a special agent in charge of New York City investigations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reports the Daily Mail.
Hayes Jr. formerly served as director of ICE Detention and Removal Operations in Washington D.C., but got demoted following the appointment of Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security.
Hayes Jr. claims that Dora Schriro, a less-qualified woman, was named as a “special adviser” to Napolitano in February 2009 and began to replace him at DHS and ICE meetings.
The lawsuit says that “Schriro was not as qualified for the position plaintiff had because of lack of federal law-enforcement experience. Schriro did have experience, however, working with Secretary Napolitano. Schriro enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the secretary.”
The lawsuit also claims Hayes Jr. was removed from his job because "he was being targeted because of his gender.”
The lawsuit also says that Napolitano’s chief of staff at ICE, Suzanne Barr, engaged in “numerous” acts of “sexually offensive behavior” intended to “humiliate and intimidate male employees."
The lawsuit also accuses Barr of moving "the entire contents of the offices of three male employees, including nameplates, computers and telephones, to the men’s bathroom at ICE headquarters.”
The lawsuit alleges that “Barr also created a frat-house type atmosphere that is targeted to humiliate and intimidate male employees. Further, Barr promoted and otherwise rewarded those male employees who play along with her sexually charged games."
Napolitano hasn’t formally responded to the lawsuit.