Deputy files discrimination lawsuit against N.J. sheriff, says officials played politics with her career – NJ.com

An Essex County deputy has sued Sheriff Armando Fontoura and his department, claiming she has been discriminated against for her race, gender and for political purposes.

Shai Carr claims in court papers she has endured ongoing harassment — including being banned from Democratic fundraisers, stripped of her detective title and banished to work in the basement — because she is a Black woman and because her superior was jealous over her “youth and appearance,” the lawsuit claims.

Carr said it stems from a conflict with Jacqueline Jones, who is the county’s deputy director of human resources and who is the wife of Leroy Jones, chairman of the county’s Democratic Party.

A spokesman for the county said the employees named in the lawsuit had no comment. He referred all calls to Courtney M. Gaccione, an attorney for Essex County.

Gaccione declined comment about the case on Monday, saying the county “does not comment on pending litigation.”

The lawsuit, filed recently in U.S. District Court Newark, claims Sheriff Armando Fontoura told Carr she was to no longer attend Democratic functions in the county because Jones “has a problem” with her being there, states the suit.

Carr recorded at least one of her conversations with Fontoura, sharing the recording with NBC-NY, which first reported the story.

Fontoura, a Democrat, is an elected official who has served as sheriff in Essex County for more than 30 years.

Carr objected to being told she couldn’t attend fundraisers on her personal time and continued to go anyway. The suit alleges Fontoura once “dragged” her out of a fundraiser held at Mayfair Farms banquet hall in West Orange.

In addition, Carr claims her issues with Fontoura and Jones led to her transfer from the detective bureau to the transportation department, where she was forced to work in the basement.

Carr claims she was “explicitly told by Internal Affairs that she is forbidden from walking through any portion of the building besides the basement.”

The lawsuit also alleges that she was stripped of her detective status and given a new badge that read “officer,” that she was berated by supervisors, and that her name was left out of an awards ceremony until the last minute.

In one instance, Carr claims she went to her car for feminine hygiene products and was then forced by a male supervisor to explain in front of male deputies that she was experiencing her menstrual cycle.

The lawsuit accuses Fontoura, Jacqueline Jones, one of Carr’s supervisors and other employees named and unnamed of retaliation, violating her freedom of association, along with creating a hostile and abusive work environment.

Carr claims she was discriminated against because she is an African American woman and that the discrimination violates federal civil rights laws.

Each instance of alleged harassment and discrimination caused Carr to suffer severe emotional distress, public humiliation and loss of reputation, the lawsuit claims. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, along with costs of the suit.

In an answer to the lawsuit filed recently in federal court, attorneys for the county denied the most serious allegations contained in Carr’s lawsuit.

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.