Paul Mansfield (Nelson Levine de Luca & Horst)
A fired Assistant U.S. Attorney is suing Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department in an effort to get his job back, The Philadelphia Daily News reports.
Paul Mansfield, who was fired in 2007 after an 18-year career in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Philadelphia, on Monday filed a 75-page federal civil complaint. According to the newspaper Mansfield claims he was fired in retaliation for filing a federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint in April 2006.
In the EEOC complaint, Mansfield, a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleged that he was discriminated against based on age and physical disabilities, the newspaper reports.
Mansfield, who had focused on organized-crime cases, claims the harassment began in December 2005. His assignments were changed and, according to the EEOC complaint, he claimed that the U.S. Attorney’s office created a hostile working environment, The Daily News reports.
Patrick Meehan (doj)
The Daily News reported that, according to Mansfield’s lawsuit, he says he was harassed, humiliated and marginalized by then-U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, then-First Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid, then-chief of the criminal division Linda Dale Hoffa and others.
Mansfield also claims the office officials pressured him to him to drop his EEOC complaint, the newspaper reports. He was reprimanded, suspended and eventually fired.
Meehan, who resigned in July 2008, currently is a Republican candidate for a House seat from the Philadelphia suburbs.
Following Meehan’s resignation Magid was named interim U.S. Attorney; however she abruptly resigned in May 2009, a month before her 120-day interim appointment would have expired.
Mansfield, who is acting as his own attorney, is seeking his old job back, damages and attorney’s fees. The Daily News reports that a person familiar with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Mansfield “was not the first person who had problems, and in the past, [management] guided people to a soft landing. That didn’t happen in his case.” Meehan did not return a request for comment. Patty Hartman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said, “We cannot comment on pending litigation.”
If Mr. Mansfield or his attorney reads this message please e-mail me. I am not an attorney; however, I was hired as a legal secretary 11/11/07 with the District of NM AUSA. Within one week sexual comments were going around and I did my best to ignore but I reported them to supervisor. I was going to work, getting excellent reviews, sent to two NAC training seminars in April 2008 and May 2008. I returned from NAC and was fired. I was told it was due to work product and conduct. Hmmm, high scores on reviews, thousands of dollars on NAC training. I was then told I would be escorted out by 2 armed guards. I was shocked. After 18 yrs in the legal field I have never been treated like this. I wanted this job and took a $5,000 cut in pay & w/in five months fired. Turns out it wasn’t my work product or conduct - it was that I reported the abuses. It was also that I reported the mentor assigned to me was horrible and continuously gave me the wrong information. The mentor, a younger woman, then went to the heads of NM office & told them (while I was at the NAC in SC) that I was suicidal, mental and she was worried about me hurting her and her children. I’m in the EEOC process now, assigned a judge; however, no atty in NM will take my case because of the relationship with the office or they want $10,000. The reprisals are still ongoing to this very day 2 yrs later. I’ve been threatened, lost 2 jobs due to the HR manager of the AUSA calling my offices and left w/o health insurance due to their bad work product. My credit is now ruined as the company card was not paid and it went on my credit. No job, no good character that was there before, no money, no car, no income and no atty. I’m pro se against a WA atty that is rude and I’m having to read what this mentor said in her depositions. Is there anything you can do to help me? I’ve called over 30 atty w/no luck. I just want my credit fixed, my grade level, the ability to apply for another federal job, and for these women to leave me alone. I have a complaint regarding one of the AUSA females starting a physical fight with me and the police came and then went to the AUSA office to talk to her and she still has her job. Help.