An East Haven town employee who last month filed a sexual harassment complaint against Mayor Joseph Maturo has filed a new complaint accusing town officials of retaliating against her for taking family medical leave to care for a sick child.
Department of Housing and Urban Renewal secretary Francine Carbone has filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court alleging town officials “intentionally, wantonly and maliciously” retaliated against her while she was on family medical leave.
The four-page complaint says Carbone applied for family medical leave and it was granted, but she was pressured to return to work early.
The court documents include text messages attributed to Carbone's supervisor.
"Fran, you need to touch base with me on a daily basis. I know you have problems but I still have a dept. to run and the Mayor to answer to,” one said.
“What’s the latest? Are we going to see you today? The boss is getting ansy and asking a lot of questions about your situation....Please let me know your plans ASAP,” another says, according to the complaint.
NBC Connecticut reached out to the mayor’s office, but there was no immediate response.
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In late July, Maturo released a statement about the sexual harassment allegations and described Carbone as "a disgruntled employee who was on the verge of being terminated" and suggested that that might have motivated her first complaint.
Carbone has worked for the city since 1997 and remains on family medical leave, according to complaints.
Her complaint said the town has retaliated against her for exercising her rights under the family leave and she suffered emotional distress.
