An employee sex-discrimination suit filed against the Rio Arriba County Jail is making its way through federal District Court, though one defendant moved to dismiss it Aug. 15.
Former Jail guard Esther Lopez originally filed the complaint in state District Court May 21, and it was removed to federal court July 18. Lopez alleges sex discrimination, and the suit claims her civil rights were violated — but much of the complaint deals with a long-simmering feud between Lopez and former Jail supervisor Lydia Garcia over fraternization with inmates.
Named as defendants in the suit are the Jail, Garcia and Jail Administrator Bidal Candelaria. Lopez, of Los Ojos, is seeking punitive damages, attorney’s fees, compensation for pain and suffering, loss of wages and other damages.
According to the complaint, Lopez was hired April 17, 2006 as a detention officer and soon began experiencing trouble with the administration. She wrote a memo in June 2006 to Candelaria and Assistant Jail Administrator Dennis Herrera, reporting that one of her coworkers had been seen hugging inmates and had taken an inmate’s word over Lopez’s “with regard to a food issue,” court documents state. Lopez alleges that her supervisor told her hugging inmates is acceptable behavior.
On July 1, 2006, Lopez reported to another supervisor that Garcia had allowed an inmate to deliver medication to a fellow inmate, against the Jail’s policies and procedures, court documents state. The next day, Lopez wrote a memo claiming Garcia had engaged in “harassing and offensive behavior against her and other officers, while engaging in favorable behavior with the inmates.”
Lopez sent another memo July 9, 2006, and Garcia’s alleged fraternization with inmates was again the subject. In it, Lopez claimed Garcia shared private information with inmates, intimidated her employees, accepted gifts from inmates and “retaliated against (Lopez) persistently, even so far as to make her aware that she could have an inmate put a ‘hit’ on her.” Garcia also allegedly told Lopez that two inmates wanted to attack Lopez. Those threats were never addressed by Jail administrators, the suit states.
In Aug. 2006, the first alleged incident of sexual harassment surfaced. Lopez claims she injured her back and was required to inject steroids into her spine. Candelaria allegedly began to harass her afterward, specifically saying the steroid shots would cause her breasts to grow. After the comments were allegedly repeated, Lopez wrote a letter Sept. 25, 2006, in which she threatened “further action” if the harassment didn’t stop.
In April 2007, Lopez encountered the possible use of marijuana by inmates, court documents state. She said Jail administrators did not take any disciplinary actions or issue any urine analyses. Lopez goes on to claim Garcia failed to discipline an inmate who had a syringe in his sock, and at a staff meeting she felt Garcia’s behavior would never be addressed.
In June of last year, Lopez reported the syringe to Candelaria and submitted a second letter to him because he failed to stop commenting on her breast size, court documents state. In that letter, she said she was seeking legal counsel. Candelaria allegedly dismissed the complaint and made another inappropriate comment.
Lopez claims she was wrongfully terminated June 22, 2007. A letter from Candelaria claimed she fraternized with inmates and may have given them cigarettes — claims she denies.
Lopez filed a charge of discrimination with the state Human Rights Bureau on Aug. 9, 2007.
In late August 2007, following a four-month investigation, Garcia was placed on leave and searched for possession of controlled substances. State Police agents didn’t find any evidence of drug trafficking, but the search did turn up two inmate letters in Garcia’s pocket, and she was terminated for “consorting with inmates,” County Manager Lorenzo Valdez said at the time.
No criminal charges were ever brought against Garcia related to the investigation.
On Feb. 21, 2008, Lopez’s discrimination complaint was dismissed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which found no reasonable cause for the charges. Lopez had 90 days to file a lawsuit in federal court. Her suit was not filed in federal court for 148 days, after the County had requested that the state suit be removed, court documents show.
Garcia filed a motion to dismiss the suit earlier this month, but the time limit was not the subject. Rather, Garcia said she had no control over Lopez’s termination and should not be named in the suit.
“There’s really no claim in there against me,” she said. “That’s just ridiculous.”
Garcia said Lopez’s problems at the Jail were of her own creation. Garcia said she wrote Lopez up once, and after that she became the target of Lopez’s spite.
“It was obvious she was just trying to make my life more difficult,” Garica said.
The County and Candelaria filed a response to Lopez’s complaint July 18, denying most of Lopez’s allegations. However, it does state “Candelaria teasingly said something on one occasion to the effect that the steroid shots would cause her boobs to grow.”
Lopez could not be reached for comment, and calls to lawyers of both parties were not returned.