Official’s Lawsuit Claims Discrimination Against Men at U.S. Immigration Agency
By KIRK SEMPLE
Published: August 21, 2012
A discrimination and retaliation lawsuit has embroiled the upper reaches of the federal government’s immigration
enforcement agency, contributing to a sense of turmoil in a bureaucracy
that has been suffering major labor conflicts between senior officials
and employees.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
A lawsuit by James T. Hayes Jr. names Janet
Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary, as the defendant. He says
he was moved out of a position in favor of a less-qualified woman.
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
James T. Hayes Jr.
The lawsuit, filed by a top federal immigration official in New York,
alleges that he was shunted out of a high-level position in the agency
in favor of a less-qualified woman because he was a man.
The official, James T. Hayes Jr., also accuses the agency’s chief of
staff, Suzanne Barr, of “sexually offensive behavior” that contributed
to a discriminatory work environment for male employees.
Last week, Ms. Barr stepped down from her post and voluntarily left the
agency on paid leave pending the outcome of an internal review of the
misconduct allegations, a spokesman said.
The charges by Mr. Hayes have added to a sense of unrest in the agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
The union that organizes more than 7,000 enforcement agents, the National ICE Council,
has been openly critical of the leadership of the agency’s director,
John Morton, and resistant to policy changes he has introduced. The head
of the union has accused Mr. Morton, who was appointed in 2009, of
failing to consult with agents in the field about the effect of the new
policies.
Last week the union posted a petition
on its Web site asking for public support for ICE officers who are
“upholding the law.” As of Tuesday morning it had more than 55,000
signatures.
The discrimination lawsuit, which names Janet Napolitano,
the Homeland Security secretary, as the sole defendant, was filed in
May by Mr. Hayes, special agent in charge of investigations for the
agency’s New York office.
In the lawsuit, Mr. Hayes claims he was shoved out of a senior-level
management position to make way for a less-qualified woman and then
suffered retaliation when he threatened to file a discrimination
complaint.
In addition, he accuses Ms. Barr of contributing to a sexualized office culture hostile to men.
Ms. Barr, the lawsuit alleges, “created a frat house-type atmosphere
that is targeted to humiliate and intimidate male employees.”
Men make up a majority of the leadership at ICE.
Mr. Hayes’s lawyer, Morris Eli Fischer, said other ICE employees had
filed affidavits in support of Mr. Hayes’s lawsuit, also alleging
inappropriate behavior by Ms. Barr. Until Mr. Hayes’s lawsuit, however,
no employee had filed a sexual harassment complaint against Ms. Barr,
said a federal official who requested anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak on the record about the case.
Mr. Hayes first accused the agency of discrimination last year in a
formal complaint to its Equal Employment Opportunity office, according
to court documents. That complaint, however, did not include any sexual
harassment allegations.
Brian Hale, director of public affairs for ICE, said the agency “will
respond directly and strongly to this lawsuit in court.” He added that
the misconduct allegations were referred to internal affairs
investigators at Homeland Security and ICE.
Federal lawyers filed a motion last week to dismiss the lawsuit on
grounds that it failed to present sufficient facts to justify the
claims.
Mr. Hayes began his federal career in 1995 as a border patrol agent in
Texas and quickly ascended the ranks of the federal immigration
bureaucracy. In September 2008, he was promoted to head the agency’s
detention and removal operations, managing a staff of 8,500 and a budget
of about $2.5 billion, according to the lawsuit.
But Mr. Hayes contends that he was soon supplanted in meetings by Dora
B. Schriro, who was appointed in February 2009 as a special adviser to
Ms. Napolitano for detention and removal operations.
Mr. Hayes contends that he was “being replaced in his duties” in part
because “he was not female,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed
in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Mr. Hayes claims that Ms. Schriro was unqualified for the job because
she lacked federal law enforcement experience. Ms. Schriro had
previously served as head of both Missouri’s and Arizona’s correction
departments. She left Homeland Security in 2009 and is currently the
commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction.
Mr. Hayes sought a transfer to Los Angeles, the lawsuit contends, but his request was denied.
When he threatened to file an internal discrimination complaint, the
lawsuit says, the agency opened four misconduct investigations against
him and reopened two others “to intimidate him,” the lawsuit says.
He was eventually transferred to New York in late 2009 “at a substantial
financial loss,” he claims, and is suing to recover $335,000 in moving
costs, unpaid relocation bonuses and lost wages. Mr. Hayes, Ms. Barr nor
Ms. Schriro could be reached for comment, though a spokesman for Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg said in a statement that Ms. Schriro’s appointment
at ICE was “based on merit.”
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