NEW BEDFORD — City Council President Naomi Carney is suing former employer Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux for race, age and gender discrimination in connection with losing her job.
The lawsuit, filed in Bristol County Superior Court on June 14, states she was discriminated against by Heroux and the Bristol County Sheriff's Office on the basis of age, race, gender, and national origin, and was retaliated against after raising the issue.
The lawsuit states she was unlawfully terminated from her job and that the Sheriff's Office was also discriminatory in refusing to rehire her for other positions for which she was qualified.
Sheriff Heroux denies the claims
Heroux denies the claims, saying he has hired and promoted women, minorities and older employees. "There's no pattern of this," Heroux said. "Why would I pick on this one person? It just doesn't add up."
He said her position was eliminated because it wasn't needed. "Her duties were divided up among two other full-time employees, and both of those people took on those duties without skipping a beat because there was not 35 hours or 40 hours worth of work that needed to be done."
Carney's 13-count lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for emotional distress, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees.
Carney is 67 and of Black, American Indian and Cape Verdean descent, her lawsuit states.
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Carney worked for Sheriff's Office for almost 20 years
She worked for the Sheriff's Office for almost 20 years, including 18 years as director of the Community Works Program, according to the lawsuit.
She was responsible for managing community work projects performed by male and female Bristol County House of Correction inmates in pre-release or tandem work crews.
Carney worked most of her career for former Sheriff Thomas Hodgson. Heroux took over in January 2023 after defeating Hodgson in the 2022 election.
The lawsuit states that Carney was the only female, minority member on the administrative staff during her tenure, except for one other co-worker who is now retired. Heroux's response to the lawsuit, also filed in Bristol County Superior Court, says this is inaccurate.
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Lawsuit: Heroux told her the director's position had been eliminated
According to the lawsuit, Heroux told the staff he was restructuring the office, but that those employees affected would be offered another position. Heroux denies this in his response to the lawsuit.
He also "indicated" that people with a higher educational degree would be compensated for it, according to the lawsuit.
Heroux met with Carney in February 2023, and said her director's position had been eliminated.
According to the lawsuit, Heroux offered her a position as a "classification counselor" at a salary of $48,000 to $58,000 per year vs. the $79,000 she had been making. Heroux said he offered her an interview for the job, not the position itself.
Carney was placed on administrative leave.
Heroux denies being shocked Carney had a degree
Carney asked if she would be in line for compensation because she had a bachelor's degree.
The lawsuit alleges Heroux acted shocked that she had the degree, and said he hadn't decided whether to provide compensation for higher degrees. Heroux, in his response, denies acting shocked.
Carney told Heroux later that day she was disappointed in him because she believed her gender, race and age were the reasons her position had been eliminated. Heroux denies this happened in his response.
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Carney said job loss was a 'devastating financial hardship'
She also told him the loss in salary was a "devastating financial hardship," and she was upset at being placed on administrative leave, according to her lawsuit.
Heroux said they would talk again and that the leave came with full pay and full benefits for at least four weeks, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that Carney followed up on "multiple occasions" in conversations with Heroux, questioning why she was being placed on leave and expressing her belief that her position was terminated "because of her race, national origin, gender/sex, and age."
Heroux's response states the defendants "are without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the allegations. … To the extent a response is required, denied."
Carney said Heroux pushed her to retire, which he denies
The lawsuit states Heroux either ignored or denied her allegations, and made efforts to avoid her calls, texts and requests for an in-person meeting to discuss the process for her to accept the classification counselor position. This is denied in the Heroux response.
The lawsuit adds he also "pushed" the idea that Carney should retire. Heroux denies pressuring her to retire.
Carney told him she planned to work until she was 70.
In February 2023, she brought up the idea of taking a third-shift corrections officer's post, pointing to her 18 years of experience working with inmates. She noted that it would compensate for her reduced salary.
Heroux gave no response, according to the lawsuit.
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Carney said she felt she was being targeted
Later that month, Heroux told her he didn't think the corrections officer job was feasible, but the classification counselor was still an option, according to the lawsuit.
She again said she felt she was bein targeted as a 66-year-old woman of American Indian and Cape Verdean descent.
Heroux's response refutes that she said she felt she was being targeted.
Heroux said her demographic characteristics didn't play a role in his decision-making, according to the lawsuit.
According to the lawuit, Heroux said he would try to get her an interview for the job and she could start working right away if she was a good "mutual fit."
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This caused Carney "confusion and anxiety" because she said Heroux initially indicated the job was hers without an interview if no alternative was found, which Heroux denies.
Heroux told her that he was still trying to arrange an interview for the classification counselor position, according to her lawsuit.
He also told her that in order to take the corrections officer job she would have to go through the Academy for eight to nine weeks.
She would also be at the bottom of the seniority list, and would be forced to work overtime every other day. It would become very disruptive to her life he told her, according to the lawsuit.
He told her she should retire, and that working additional years in city government would add to her pension, according to the lawsuit.
Heroux told her the 2nd job went to another applicant
She asked him to stop pressuring her into retiring, according to the lawsuit, and said that she accepted the classification counselor job. Heroux, in his response, says the position was not offered to her and that he was not pressuring her.
The interview was held in late February 2023.
In early March, Heroux told her he had given the post to another applicant. The successful candidate was a younger white man with minimal experience working directly with inmates, according to the lawsuit. Heroux's response refutes that the successful candidate had minimal experience.
Carney said Heroux had told her initially the staffers conducting the interview were going to make the decision. Heroux's response says that's not accurate.
Heroux denies responding aggressively to Carney
Carney asked for an extension of her paid administrative leave until the end of April 2023.
He informed her on March 23, 2023, that "six weeks of severance is enough," and that she could apply for unemployment, according to the lawsuit.
When she disagreed, the lawsuit states Heroux "aggressively responded."
Heroux's response filed with the court denies that his text message was aggressive, but says the statements were accurately represented.
According to the lawsuit, he stated:
"What you're forgetting though is that you're not entitle to a severance. I didn't have to give you anything."
"I am not gonna speak to you anymore."
"I am not going to tolerate you playing the race card."
"I don't want to hear from you again. You just went too far invoking the race card."
Carney said she applied for six BCSO jobs, but was not contacted
Since March 23, 2023, various jobs have opened up at the BCSO.
Carney applied for six different positions, but has not been contacted by the BCSO, according to the lawsuit.
Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford City Council President Carney sues sheriff, alleges job discrimination
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