Longtime DOC worker files fed suit against employer

UNCASVILLE — A longtime state Department of Correction employee has filed a federal lawsuit against the agency claiming she was punished after complaining that a coworker was prominently displaying the Confederate battle flag.

Carla Moore, who is African American, never had received any disciplinary action in the 25 years she has worked for the DOC, her attorney John Williams said in the lawsuit filed in federal court Monday.

But she was given a oneday suspension without pay after reporting to higherups that a Caucasian supervisor approached her in a “physically threatening manner, screaming and pointing at her,” following her verbal and written complaints that a coworker repeatedly parked his car in such a manner that prominently displayed a Confederate flag, the lawsuit said. Exactly a month after submitting a written complaint, she received the suspension for “a delay in reporting an incident,” according to Williams.

Moore, an identification records specialist with the DOC, is seeking damages, attorney fees, a removal of the disciplinary action from her employee file and lost wages, the lawsuit said. She also is seeking punitive damages under state whistle blower laws, which protect employees of state agencies who report abuses, Williams said.

Moore verbally complained to an immediate supervisor on Nov. 30, 2018, that a male corrections officer was allowed to repeatedly park his pickup truck displaying the Confederate flag in an area directly adjacent to the entrance of the CorriganRadgowski Correctional Center in Uncasville, where they both worked, Williams said. The way the vehicle was parked, the flag was displayed prominently “to confront anyone entering the facility,” court papers said. Employees normally are not permitted to park in that area, the lawsuit contends.

“It’s clearly a symbol of slavery,” Williams said. The flag has come to symbolize resistance to integration and hatred for African Americans, Williams said. “To display it openly at the entrance to a facility where most of the people are African Americans is unimaginable,” Williams said. “Imagine their families who are coming to visit viewing that.”

Moore didn’t complain about the flag to superior officers until she saw that it wasn’t an occasional instance, Williams said. “The pickup truck was parked in that fashion with the flag prominently displayed for most of 2018,” Williams said. After she did speak up, she was confronted by a Caucasian supervisor who allegedly was physically threatening while “screaming and pointing at her,” the lawsuit said. The Caucasian supervisor did not specifically refer to the flag complaint during the tirade, Williams said. “It’s not entirely clear why the supervisor yelled at her,” he said.

In retaliation for speaking up, she received a oneday suspension without pay, Williams claims in the lawsuit. “She was issued the suspension one month after she submitted a written complaint,” Williams said. She filed a complaint with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities claiming the DOC’s actions created a hostile work environment based on race. The CHRO attempted to mediate the complaint with DOC officials but the mediation was unsuccessful, Williams said. The complaint also went to the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. She sought the advice of Williams after the mediation failed. “She tried to handle it at the lowest possible level,” Williams said. “She is a team player.”

DOC officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Williams asked the CHRO to release the complaint, which the agency did on July 2, so that he could file a federal lawsuit on her behalf. The state Attorney General’s Office, which will represent the DOC, will be formally notified of the lawsuit in the next few days, he said.

In retaliation for speaking up, she received a oneday suspension without pay, Williams claims in the lawsuit