Fired SAD 3 bus driver alleges sex discrimination

THORNDIKE – A former SAD 3 bus driver has filed a civil rights complaint against the school district, claiming she was fired because of her gender and complaints she made that the work environment was hostile for woman drivers.

Filed in Waldo County Superior Court at Belfast, the suit by Eloise Elwell of Brooks names the school district, Superintendent Daniel M. Lee and transportation supervisor John Ludden as defendants. In it, Elwell asked the court to give her back her old job and award damages for lost wages and benefits, attorney fees and court costs.

According to the complaint filed by attorney John R. Lemieux of the Farris Law Office in Gardiner, Elwell was the victim of “intentional and willful discrimination” based on “her sex” and in retaliation for her complaints about a hostile work environment “based on her sex.”

Elwell was hired by the district in February 1987 and was fired on Feb. 26, 2004.

The Maine Human Rights Commission dismissed Elwell’s case when members reviewed it on Jan. 30, 2004.

Asked Tuesday to comment on the suit, Superintendent Lee declined to respond to the allegations. Lee did say he believed the district would prevail in court.

“We prevailed at the Maine Human Rights Commission, and I have every reason to believe we will prevail in court,” said Lee.

Attorney Lemieux claimed that his client was “repeatedly harassed and mistreated” by Ludden, her supervisor, throughout many of the years of her employment. He noted that Elwell first outlined her “concerns about Ludden’s behavior” in an October 1996 letter to then transportation director Russell Lord, but no formal action was taken.

In 1999 Elwell filed another complaint against Ludden about the hostile work environment she and other women believed they were encountering.

According to the complaint, Ludden “used vulgarity on a regular basis with women,” “spoke to them in a very loud voice,” and acted in an “intimidating fashion.”

As a result of the investigation, Ludden was directed to attend anger management training.

According to the complaint, Ludden responded to the investigation by openly “expressing anger” about the findings. At one point, he was alleged to have stated, “If I had my way, I wouldn’t have women bus drivers.”

Ludden allegedly approached Elwell at a later date and accused her of “hanging out with the wrong crowd” and called her a “bitch.”

Elwell alleged that Ludden continued “denigrating” her in 2001 and 2002 and retaliated by delaying repairs to her bus and changing her bus routes. At one point, she claimed, Ludden tried to eliminate her route, but Lord restored it.

In January 2003, Ludden was promoted to acting transportation director when Lord left because of a medical disability. A month later, Ludden changed Elwell’s route. The change hampered Elwell’s ability to pick up children on time. When parents complained, she advised them to discuss the matter with Superintendent Lee. Lee responded by meeting with Elwell on Feb. 26 and informing her she was fired.

That took place shortly after Lee remarked at a public meeting held in Jackson that 80 percent of the district’s drivers were “good” and “20 percent were troublemakers,” according to the complaint.