ANN Maureen S. Attao, who has disabilities, has filed a civil complaint in federal court against the CNMI Department of Commerce, alleging that she was terminated from her employment because she had 108 hours’ leave without pay in one year.
Attao, represented by attorney Stephen Woodruff, named former Commerce Secretary Edward M. Deleon Guerrero, her immediate supervisor, Workers Compensation Commission Director Francisco Cabrera, and the Department of Commerce as defendants.
Her complaint also named the CNMI government and the Commonwealth Civil Service Commission as defendants.
Attao alleged unlawful discrimination on account of disability, breach of contract, tortious interference with contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, denial of due process, and back wages.
The lawsuit demanded an undetermined amount of damages, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, attorney’s fees and costs, and other relief.
Attao also requested that she be allowed to proceed with the complaint without paying for court fees and costs.
According to the lawsuit, Attao was hired by Commerce on November 8, 2021, and her employment commenced on January 2, 2022, as a Clerk Typist III under limited term appointment not to exceed September 30, 2022.
She was assigned to the Workers Compensation Commission under the division director, Francisco D. Cabrera.
Attao suffers from diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, high cholesterol, asthma and anxiety, which are recognized disabilities under federal law, her lawsuit stated.
The defendants were made aware of her disabilities in or about February of 2022.
According to her lawsuit, at all times during her employment with the CNMI Department of Commerce, Attao maintained an exemplary work performance aside from absences necessitated mostly by medical needs associated with her disability and related medications, and by jury duty required by law.
On May 26, 2022, she was served with a “notice of termination for cause” signed by Deleon Guerrero, stating that her employment would be terminated in 14 days.
The first reason for termination given in the notice was that Attao had 108 hours of “leave without pay (LWOP) in less than a twelve-month period.” While this was objectively true, it did not constitute a legitimate ground for termination of employment, the lawsuit stated.
“There were two big problems with this as a putative basis for employment termination,” it added.
“First, leave without pay is not proper ground for termination of employment at all. Absence without leave is, but not LWOP. Plaintiff was never AWOL…. Plaintiff prepared leave requests for all of her time off, and all of the leave requests were approved. In short, Plaintiff had zero unauthorized leave,” her lawsuit stated.
“Finally, all of Plaintiff’s missed work hours were for legitimate reasons, and most were for reasons protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal law. Seventy-six hours were for medical care associated with Plaintiff’s disabilities. Twenty-four hours were for jury duty, required and protected by federal law. A mere four hours were a consequence of car trouble, and the remaining four hours were to attend a funeral,” the lawsuit stated.
“The termination notice went on, in a derogatory, degrading and insulting fashion, to accuse Plaintiff, with no factual basis whatsoever, of failure to maintain ‘the highest standards of honesty, integrity, impartiality, and conduct’ required by the Personnel Service,” the lawsuit stated.
The notice further stated that this decision was “final” and “not appealable,” but that Attao had a “right to discuss this matter.” “The notice went on to imply that the only way to discuss” the matter was to make an appointment to appear personally before [Deleon] Guerrero and grovel,” the lawsuit stated.
Woodruff said Attao consulted with him regarding the notice.
He told his client that “the representations in the notice relative to Plaintiff’s legal rights were disputable and that she had no obligation to meet with [Deleon] Guerrero in person in order to challenge the termination.”
Woodruff said her client wrote and sent, on June 6, 2022, a letter to Deleon Guerrero objecting to the termination notice and asking that the termination letter be withdrawn, “rebutting every material point and invoking the protection of ADA.”
According to the lawsuit, Deleon Guerrero ignored everything Attao said in her letter.
Instead of considering the letter’s contents, Deleon Guerrero sent Attao a letter on the following day, June 7, 2022, acknowledging receipt of her letter and rejecting it, stating: “The final decision has been made. Your limited term employment is being terminated as stated in the Notice of Termination for Cause. Your last day of employment is on June 10, 2022.”
Deleon Guerrero “cared not a whit for the law,” the lawsuit stated.
On information and belief, “the real motivation for Plaintiff’s termination was a political assessment by the [then] incumbent Governor and his political allies, including [Deleon] Guerrero, based on Plaintiffs’ family name, that she could not be counted upon to support the [former] Governor’s reelection,” the lawsuit stated.
On information and belief, Cabrera assisted Deleon Guerrero “in the preparation of the termination notice and, despite knowing the truth was contrary to the representations in the termination notice, failed to defend Plaintiff and her job performance to the Secretary of Commerce,” the lawsuit added.
Attao appealed her wrongful termination to the Commonwealth Civil Service Commission, which “wrongfully refused to consider her appeal and denied her due process of law,” the lawsuit stated.
“As a consequence of Plaintiff’s unjust and unlawful termination, she lost her Food Stamp eligibility,” her lawsuit added.
“Plaintiff appealed her disqualification, but the appeal did not restore her benefits pending adjudication, notwithstanding the fact that she no longer had any income due to the involuntary severance of employment,” the lawsuit stated.
On or about July 20, 2022, Attao filed a charge of discrimination with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
On March 5, 2024, Attao received a right-to-sue letter from the EEOC.
