Fired border patrol agent says supervisor’s conservative views created hostile work environment

[Maine-ah]

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/05/01/news/bangor/fired-border-patrol-agent-says-supervisors-conservative-views-created-hostile-work-environment/

BANGOR, Maine — A fired border patrol agent has sued the Department of Homeland Security in federal court, alleging that her former male supervisor created a hostile work environment by repeatedly demeaning the role of women outside the home, discussing his conservative Christian views and treating her differently from her male co-workers.

Rebecca Albert Carnot, 33, of Rangeley claimed she was illegally fired in January 2011 after working in the Coburn Gore Border Patrol Station for two years.

A Maine native, she is seeking reinstatement, compensatory damages, lost wages and benefits and legal expenses. Carnot claimed in the lawsuit that her former supervisor said that a woman should not be involved in any capacity in law enforcement and had a duty to obey her husband in accordance with the Bible.

He repeatedly invited Carnot to attend his Protestant church, even though he knew she was a Catholic, the complaint alleged. He also advised Carnot to court but not date because dating involved having sexual intercourse and courting did not, the lawsuit said.

[freethought]

1. I can't say I am totally surprised by this

I know that's a negative thing to say and it may irk some people. I lived in Maine for several years and I made the observation on my travels through the state that there are a number of small, isolated, and insular towns that subscribe to conservative/"fire and brimstone" religious beliefs, essentially northern versions of what some may consider the stereotypical southern small town where the only social interaction is through the local church and its preacher. The only thing different was the accent and the weather. I noticed in a few of these villages, English was secondary to French. Things are looser and more liberal as you head south along the coast.

Turn your car radio on while traveling through these towns and all you hear is religious programming.

So it's really not a huge surprise that this woman ran into this. It's unfortunate to say the least but not terribly surprising. I wish her luck.

[EC]

2. I hope she wins.

and sets some kind of standard of harassment with this. They've been screaming victim and saying they can't practice their religion freely...here is a case showing it is pure harassment and should be seen as such. Then I hope it goes on with another case against a pharmacist projecting his religious beliefs on someone else by denying a woman the pill and on and on.

[4bucksagallon]

3. I wrote a comment in the Bangor Daily News on this....

that was deleted by someone. All I wrote, since no name of the super was mentioned, was that it was my guess he was a former Shrub appointee or holdover from the previous inept administration. LOL. That was enough to get my comment pulled. I did say that if I was wrong I would admit it. I guess only some name calling from the right is approved by this paper. I have had several comments deleted because I dared to bashed Paul LiarPage, so not surprised.

[Maine-ah]

4. make your argument with out the name calling

it's part of the rules...even if it's mild name calling. If there are enough alerts on the post they'll yank it. Plus it doesn't help your argument when you do use name calling. Don't take that as snark, but just some advice to keep your posts up on BDN.


Kicking for the AM crowd.

[Crabby Appleton]

5. Border Patrol Agents and supervisors are civil service

they aren't political appointees. Both agents and supervisors are selected through competitive exams; agents are GS 5 through GS 11, line supervisors are GS 12.