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Crowley County Correctional Facility, Olney Springs, Colorado
October 2, 2009 Pueblo Chieftain
Two companies that operated the prison at Olney Springs have agreed to pay
$1.3 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged sexual harassment of women
employees and retaliation against them. The money will be paid by
Corrections Corporation of America and Dominion Correctional Services to 21
female staff identified as victims of unlawful conduct and to attorneys who
represented three of them. The companies operated the private Crowley
County Correctional Facility. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
and the two company defendants on Thursday submitted the terms of the
proposed settlement to a U.S. District Court judge for approval. The Pueblo
Chieftain first reported last week that a settlement had been reached on
the eve of a 16-day trial that was to have started last Monday. The
payments range between $7,500 and $155,000 each, based on the circumstances
of specific employees. The private attorneys will receive $140,000 of the
$1.3 million. The EEOC sued the companies in 2006, claiming the alleged harassment
and retaliation was an unlawful employment practice because the companies
purportedly allowed the harassment, starting in at least 2000. The federal
agency alleged male supervisors deliberately put female employees in
dangerous situations in retaliation for complaining about being sexually
harassed. The alleged "repeated, serious" harassment purportedly
included groping and pawing. The alleged retaliation purportedly included
"dangerous shift assignments and reduced opportunities for
advancement." The companies denied the claims and allegations. They
stated in Thursday's court document they agreed to settle the case
"solely to avoid the cost and uncertainties of trial and to buy their
peace." The payments are to cover pay the women were entitled to but
never received, to compensate them for damages from the mistreatment and to
punish the companies. The proposed settlement also requires Corrections
Corporation, the current operator of the prison, to meet several other
obligations. They include expunging parts of personnel files of some of the
women who were disciplined or terminated from their jobs, training managers
and staff regarding sexual harassment and retaliation, as well as
maintaining a clear policy about those issues that conforms with federal law. Dominion operated the prison until
January 2003 and Corrections Corporation after that.
September 24, 2009 Pueblo Chieftain
A federal agency that alleged male supervisors at the Olney Springs prison
deliberately put female employees in dangerous assignments has agreed to
settle its lawsuit against operators of the private prison. The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission alleged the supervisors put the females
in danger as retaliation for objecting to "repeated, serious"
sexual harassment, including groping and pawing. The EEOC sued Corrections
Corporation of America and Dominion Correctional Services that operated the
prison, the Crowley County Correctional Facility. A settlement was reached
this week on the eve of a trial, The Pueblo Chieftain learned. The federal
lawsuit sought damages to punish the companies for their "malicious
and/or reckless conduct" by allegedly allowing its male employees to
sexually harass female staffers. The lawsuit also sought compensation for
the women due to the alleged misconduct. The EEOC, when it sued the
companies in 2006, alleged the harassment had occurred since at least 2000.
The agency claimed the alleged harassment was an unlawful employment
practice because the companies purportedly allowed the harassment. Both
companies denied the allegations. Dominion operated the prison until
January 2003 and Corrections Corporation after that. The case had been set
for a 16-day trial beginning Monday. Terms of the settlement were not
available Wednesday. The EEOC alleged the harassment was "repeated,
serious, verbal and physical" in which "female employees were
routinely groped, pawed and physically assaulted by male management and
male co-workers." "Females who resisted sexual activity suffered consequences,
including . . . hostile and demeaning verbal and physical advances and even
dangerous shift assignments and reduced opportunities for
advancement," the lawsuit alleged. The companies "were aware of
the sexual harassment, (but) failed to take reasonable measures to prevent
and promptly remedy it," the agency alleged. Corrections Corporation
in 2006 asserted "any unlawful acts or omissions . . . were not
authorized, ratified or sanctioned by CCA." It asserted it
"exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any
unlawful behavior." Dominion in 2007 contended parts of the
allegations were "frivolous" and any actions taken with respect
to female employees "were taken for legitimate nondiscriminatory
reasons." The EEOC said in 2006 it tried to reach a settlement with
the companies before filing the lawsuit. Dominion said in 2004 it fired a
chief of security at the prison after investigating him for sexual
misconduct. The company said the security chief in that episode was not the
same security chief who was named in a lawsuit by two women employees as
the man who allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct against them. Dominion
in 2003 settled the lawsuit and a similar lawsuit involving a different
male employee. Dominion in 2005 settled a lawsuit by a former female guard
who alleged she was subjected to "severe and pervasive" offensive
comments from male supervisors. Hundreds of inmates took control of the
prison for several hours in July 2004 and the handful of guards on duty
retreated. The rioters tore up parts of the prison and set numerous fires.
November 29, 2006 Pueblo Chieftain
Three workers at the Olney Springs prison have joined a lawsuit that
alleges female workers were given dangerous assignments as retaliation for
objecting to repeated, serious sexual harassment. A U.S. district court
judge on Tuesday allowed the three to become intervenors
in the lawsuit of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against
operators of the Crowley County Correctional Facility. The EEOC two months
ago sued Corrections Corporation of America, which has operated the prison
since January 2003, and Dominion Correctional Services, which operated it
from December 2000 to January 2003. The lawsuit alleges violations of
federal laws against hostile work environments and retaliation for
complaining about discrimination. "Female employees were routinely
groped, pawed and physically assaulted by male management and male
co-workers," the EEOC alleged. Becoming intervenors
allows the three to participate directly in the litigation and to have
their own attorney, said Denver attorney Barry Roseman,
who represents them. They are seeking monetary damages in amounts to be
proven at a trial. The three are Sabinita Barron
of Rocky Ford, Marcia Manchego of Ordway and
Christine Newland of Colorado Springs. He said Barron is a guard and that Manchego had been a case manager and Newland had been a
guard, but no longer work at the prison. The EEOC sued on behalf of all
female employees who allegedly had been subjected to the illegal behavior.
The companies have not yet filed in court their answers to the lawsuit.
"Historically there has been a pattern of this kind of behavior where
women enter into a traditionally male-dominated workplace," EEOC regional
attorney Mary Jo O'Neill said when the lawsuit was filed. "We're
trying to stop harassment based on sex, ethnicity, race and national
origin," said EEOC supervising attorney Nancy Weeks. She said the
agency tried to reach a settlement with the companies before filing the
lawsuit, "but our efforts didn't work." The EEOC's district
director, Chester Bailey, said employers "need to be especially aware
that when employees complain of discrimination, the proper response is to
investigate and resolve the issue. To retaliate against those who complain
is a separate violation."
October 3, 2006 Pueblo Chieftain
A federal agency is alleging that male supervisors at the Olney Springs
prison put female employees in dangerous assignments as retaliation for
objecting to "repeated, serious" sexual harassment. The U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made the allegations in a lawsuit
against companies that currently operate and previously operated the
Crowley County Correctional Facility, a private prison, .
The lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court against Corrections
Corporation of America and against Dominion Correctional Services, a
limited liability company. Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation
has operated the prison since January 2003. Edmond, Okla.-based Dominion
operated the prison from December 2000 to January 2003. Since at least
2000, the companies "have engaged in unlawful employment practices . .
. by allowing its employees, including but not limited to management level
officials, to sexually harass" female workers, the EEOC alleges in the
lawsuit. The harassment was "repeated, serious, verbal and
physical," in which "female employees were routinely groped,
pawed and physically assaulted by male management and male
co-workers," the lawsuit alleges. "Females who resisted sexual
activity suffered consequences, including . . . hostile and demeaning
verbal and physical advances, undesirable and even dangerous shift
assignments and reduced opportunities for advancement," the lawsuit
alleges. The companies allegedly "were aware of the sexual harassment,
(but) failed to take reasonable measures to prevent and promptly
remedy" it. Corrections Corporation did not respond to a request for
comment. Dominion could not be reached for comment. The EEOC lawsuit seeks:
A court order barring the companies from any practice "which creates a
sexually or retaliatory hostile work environment" and from retaliating
against employees who object to practices of that sort. A court order
requiring the companies to carry out practices providing equal employment
opportunities for women "and which eradicate the effects of its past
unlawful employment practices, including retaliation." Back pay for
former female employees who were victims of the alleged misconduct. Front pay, or reinstatement to their jobs. Compensation for
money the employees lost from the alleged misconduct and for emotional
pain. Damages to punish the companies for their "malicious and/or
reckless conduct." A court order requiring the companies to provide
training to their staffs about "discriminatory harassment and
retaliation in the workplace." In 2004, a Dominion official said the
company fired a chief of security at the prison after investigating him for
sexual misconduct. The official said that the security chief in that
episode was not the same chief of security who was named in a lawsuit by
two women employees as the man who allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct
against them. Dominion in 2003 settled the lawsuit and a similar suit
involving a different male employee. At the time in 2004 when Dominion said
it had fired a chief of security, the EEOC was seeking a court order to
compel the company to provide information for an agency investigation. In a
court document at that time, the EEOC said a chief of security at the
prison forced a female sergeant, beginning in 2002, to engage in sex
"under threat of losing her job" and beginning in 2001 subjected
another female sergeant to "offensive, gender-based harassment."
Friday's lawsuit stemmed from the 2004 investigation, Nancy Weeks, a
supervisory EEOC attorney in Denver, said Monday. In 2005, Dominion settled
a lawsuit filed by Mandy Bravo, a former female guard who alleged she was
subjected to "severe and pervasive" offensive remarks from male
superiors from 2001 to 2002. Hundreds of inmates took control of the prison
for several hours in July 2004 and the handful of guards on duty retreated.
The rioters tore up parts of the prison and set numerous fires.
February 18, 2005 Pueblo Chieftain
A company that operated the prison at Olney Springs has settled yet another
lawsuit in which a female guard alleged she was the victim of outrageous
conduct by her male superiors. Filings in U.S. District Court show that
Dominion Correctional Services and Mandy Bravo recently settled her
lawsuit, which also alleged retaliation and gender discrimination. Last
summer, the company and three other former female guards settled those
guards' lawsuits that alleged managers at the prison repeatedly engaged in
sexual misconduct, including rape, against female employees. Last fall, a
federal agency alleged in a lawsuit that a former chief of prison security
forced a female subordinate to engage in sexual activities with him. When
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit, a Dominion
spokeswoman said the company had fired him when it learned of his
misconduct. The allegations in each of those three sets of lawsuits
involved the same time period, 2001 and 2002. Dominion, of Edmond, Okla.,
operated the prison, the Crowley County Correctional Facility, until
January 2003 when Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America bought
it. The 1,200-bed prison houses inmates under contracts with states. Bravo
listed her address as Pueblo West when she filed her lawsuit in October,
two months after the settlement of the lawsuits of the three other former
guards. Those three guards sought more than $10 million total as damages.
In her lawsuit, Bravo said she sought treatment at Parkview Medical Center
because an investigator for the prison injured her hand in an alleged
altercation in his office in September 2002. She said she filed a police
report about the incident. Bravo alleged she was subjected to "severe
and pervasive" offensive remarks from male superiors from the time she
was hired in June 2001 until she was fired in October 2002. She said she
was retaliated against because she repeatedly complained about the way she
was treated. The altercation with the investigator allegedly occurred when
she questioned him why nothing had been done about her complaints. In a
court filing, Dominion claimed it fired Bravo because she refused to return
to work after the altercation although prison officials tried to facilitate
her return. Bravo claimed when she returned to work a superior told her to
go home and she was fired later in the day. The company said Bravo, in
meetings with managers immediately after the altercation, did not complain
of an injury. Dominion also said she had been insubordinate on another
occasion and that her allegations of retaliation were unsupported. In her
lawsuit, Bravo sought unspecified monetary damages, back pay of more than
$40,000 and unspecified losses due to losing her fringe benefits. Bravo's
lawyer, Charlotte Sweeney of Denver, and Dominion official Carolyn Burgess
each said separately they cannot comment on the settlement because it
contains a confidentiality agreement. Bravo could not be reached for
comment.
October 1, 2004 Pueblo Chieftain
A former chief of security at the prison in Olney Springs was terminated
after being investigated for sexual misconduct, his former employer said
Thursday. "We did everything we possibly could when they (two female
employees) brought us the information," said Carolyn Burgess, human
resources director of Dominion Correctional Services. The U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday alleged that a former chief
of security at the state prison forced a female sergeant to engage in
telephone sex and oral sex with him. He also allegedly subjected another
female sergeant to "offensive, gender-based harassment." The
EEOC's action in federal court also accused Dominion of failing to respond
to an Aug. 3 subpoena as part of the EEOC's investigation of the women's
complaints.
September 30, 2004 Pueblo Chieftain
A federal agency alleged Wednesday that a high-ranking employee of a
company that operated a private prison in Olney Springs forced a female
subordinate to engage in sexual activities with him. The U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission made the allegation in a federal court
action in Denver against Dominion Correctional Services of Edmond, Okla.
The company last summer settled lawsuits with three other women employees
of the same prison who alleged prison managers repeatedly engaged in sexual
misconduct, including rape, against them. The prison's chief of security forced a female sergeant to
engage in telephone sex and oral sex beginning in 2002 "under threat
of losing her position," the EEOC alleged.
Wednesday's court action alleges that the company has failed to respond to
an EEOC subpoena issued as part of its investigation of complaints by the
two latest women. The EEOC is seeking a court order to compel Dominion to
provide information sought in the subpoena. The earlier lawsuits also pertained
to alleged misconduct in 2001 and 2002. A former guard claimed a chief of
security, Ronald McCall, raped her; and another former guard alleged that
he frequently propositioned her.
Details of a sexual harassment lawsuit
settlement between an Edmond company that once operated a Colorado private
prison and three women who used to work there aren't being released.
The women, former guards, filed the federal lawsuit seeking more than $10
million from Dominion Correctional Services and three managers. The
former guards alleged that female employees were coerced numerous times in
2001 and 2002 into sexual activity by male managers who condoned sexual
misconduct among workers. Former guard Lucilla
Gigliotti alleged that she became pregnant after
the prison's former chief of security, Ronald McCall, went to her home and
raped her. McCall, in court filings, denied he sexually assaulted her
and denied he "engaged in any conduct which violated the
constitutional rights" of Gigliotti and the
other two women, Pamela Johnson and Lt. Jennifer Stalder.
McCall had been forced from a previous job at the Colorado Department of
Corrections because "he had an extensive history of engaging in sexual
discrimination and harassment," the three women alleged. Johnson
alleged a guard raped her at the prison despite her having previously
pleaded with Vigil not to assign the guard and her to the same work
area. (AP, July 25, 2004)
Three former Crowley County Prison guards
are suing the private companies that operate the prison, claiming they were
coerced into having sex with managers and that sexual misconduct was
rampant among employees and inmates. In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District
Court on Thursday, one of the three female guards alleged that a
high-ranking male official of the Crowley County Correctional Facility came
to her Pueblo home and forced her to have sex. The lawsuit alleges that man
had been fired by the Colorado Department of Corrections for sexual
harassment. (AP, July 11, 2003)
Officers from several state prisons had
to suppress a riot at the prison in March 1999. Inmates flooded floors,
smashed doors and windows and tried to set fires, and prison staff
responded with gas and rubber bullets. Two people received minor injuries.
(The Associated Press State & Local Wire, November 23, 2000)
Stanley Correctional Facility, Chippewa, Wisconsin
May
17, 2006 Journal-Sentinel
The Stanley prison that a private company built - and which the state ended
up buying for $87.1 million - violates electrical, plumbing and safety
codes that will cost taxpayers an additional $5 million to repair. The
State Building Commission on Wednesday voted to spend that money to fix a
long list of major problems at the Stanley prison. The vote came after
commissioners complained that buying the prison built by Dominion Asset
Services of Edmond, Okla., was a major mistake. The commission also told
the state Department of Corrections to investigate whether the Oklahoma
company can be sued over the code violations. The prison played a role in the
corruption conviction of former state Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala (D-Madison). Dominion executives gave $125,000
to Independent Citizens for Democracy, a campaign group Chvala
illegally controlled in the summer of 2001, records in Chvala's
criminal case show. Chvala changed his position
on the prison and agreed to the state purchase of the facility after the
donations. Chvala was convicted last year of two
felonies and is serving a nine-month sentence on home detention. State
officials said they had no choice but to correct dozens of code violations
at the prison, which held 1,511 male inmates last week. "This is the
Legislature's fault," said Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Berlin). "Now, we
have to fix it up." Olsen said legislators should have demanded a
discount on the purchase price of the Stanley prison, since state officials
had a strong bargaining position and could have decided whether or when it
opened. "This was a serious mistake, and a boondoggle of the nth
degree," said Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison).
"They sold it to us, and it didn't meet code." Risser said the Dominion firm "made a nice
profit" when the Legislature and then-Gov. Scott McCallum agreed in
2001 to buy the prison. Dominion employees also donated $4,000 to
McCallum's re-election campaign. Proper procedures ignored. "We're
wasting $5 million on this," said Sen. Carol Roessler
(R-Oshkosh). "This company totally did not follow (code)
requirements." Gov. Jim Doyle, chairman of the Building Commission,
said proper procedures were not followed when the state purchased the
prison. As attorney general in 2001, Doyle had advised legislators that no
inmates could be placed in the prison until it was either leased or bought
by the state. The process normally used in state building projects was circumvented
for the Stanley prison, the governor said, noting that the Legislature and
governor must jointly agree on what is needed, and then the Building
Commission must formally approve the plan. The Stanley fiasco led to new
laws prohibiting the speculative construction of prisons. State government
bought the prison in 2002, with the code violations "not readily
observable upon inspection," state officials said. Code problems that
must be corrected include those in heating and cooling systems. Also, the state
must install smoke controls in housing units and electrical grounding
wires, rebuild electric conductors, and move metal stairs. Construction is
expected to start next April and be finished by June 2008. Assistant
Milwaukee County District Attorney David Feiss,
who prosecuted Chvala, said he mentioned at
sentencing the $125,000 that Dominion officials gave to the campaign group
the Democratic senator controlled. Told of the code violations, Feiss said, "The entire transaction is sordid, so
it is not surprising that there are details that were not known then."
Calls to Dominion were not returned Wednesday. In 2001, Dominion Asset
Services hired several lobbyists to push state purchase of the Stanley
prison through the Legislature. Also lobbying for the purchase were western
Wisconsin legislators and Stanley elected officials. In 2001, according to
state Ethics Board records, those lobbyists included former Senate Majority
Leader Joe Strohl (D-Racine) and former Rep.
Rosemary Potter (D-Milwaukee); John Matthews, former chief of staff to
Republican Gov. Tommy G. Thompson; and Ray Carey, a friend of then-Assembly
Speaker Scott Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield). Jensen pushed for state
purchase of the prison during the 2001 legislative session. Jensen was
sentenced to 15 months in prison Tuesday after being convicted of three
felony and one misdemeanor counts of having Assembly workers campaign on
state time.
February 13, 2006 AP
Employees of at least seven companies donated to Gov. Jim Doyle's re-election
campaign around the same time the state picked their firms for no-bid
contracts totaling more than $36.1 million, according to an Associated
Press review. Campaign finance reports show McCallum received $4,001 in
2001 from executives of an Oklahoma company that built a private prison in
Wisconsin hoping the state would buy it. The money came in one week before
the state Building Commission, chaired by McCallum, approved
buying the prison for $75 million.
December 31, 2005 Journal-Sentinel
Lobbyist Bill Broydrick testified in 2002 about
how Chuck Chvala, the former Senate majority
leader, solicited lobbyists and their clients for contributions. With Chvala scheduled to begin a nine-month jail sentence on
Feb. 13 after pleading guilty to two felony corruption charges, Broydrick was recently shown a summary of his
then-secret 2002 testimony about how the former Senate majority leader
solicited lobbyists and their clients for contributions. Prosecutors say
another group that got what it wanted was Dominion Asset Services, which
built a prison in Stanley that it was trying to sell to the state. Dominion
officials wrote one check for $50,000 on June 1, 2001, and another for
$75,000 on July 1, 2001, to Independent Citizens for Democracy-Issues Inc.,
court records show. ICD-Issues was the group Chvala
set up to get "soft money" donations from corporations -
companies barred by state law from giving directly to state candidates and
their campaign committees. On July 25, 2001, Chvala
and Republicans brokered a final budget that included $79.9 million to buy
the Stanley prison. Assembly Republicans long supported the purchase of the
Stanley prison, but they were unable to get the deal through the
Legislature because of Chvala's opposition to the
deal. "And then, suddenly and surprisingly, he allowed it to go
through," said Rep. Scott Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield), who was
speaker of the Assembly at the time. Dominion built the prison even though
state law bars private companies from operating prisons. The state could
have used the law to negotiate a lower price because only the state and
federal governments could buy the facility, critics said at the time.
Jensen defended the purchase decision, saying it helped move prisoners held
out of state closer to their families while creating jobs in Stanley, near
Eau Claire. Around that time, Dominion employees gave $500 to Jensen and
$500 to Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah), who offered
the budget amendment to purchase the prison. Employees also gave $4,000 to
then-Gov. Scott McCallum, a Republican, and $9,600 to Senate Democrats.
After the state bought the prison, it delayed its opening for almost a
year, after the state determined it would cost more to run the state
facility than to keep inmates in out-of-state facilities.
July 17, 2002
Outraged Stanley Correctional Facility staff and local politicians packed
the dining room of the Renegade restaurant to overflowing Tuesday
afternoon. "It's not just our jobs," said Sgt. Zahn Erdman of Chippewa Falls. "This is our
careers." Erdman has one of the nearly 200 prison jobs in limbo
until the proposed January opening of the facility. It had been
scheduled to open in September with training scheduled to begin this
week. Gov. Scott McCallum accepted a proposal last week by Rep. Scott
Suder, R-Abbotsford, to save the jobs of 77
correctional officers who had been scheduled to be immediately laid off
because of the delay. If the budget hadn't been approved, the prison
might not have opened until 2004, if ever, McCallum told Suder. Suder showed
McCallum and his staff figures indicating it will cost the state $1.3
million to delay the prison opening until January. Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, said most prisons in Wisconsin are
at 130 percent of capacity. If the Stanley prison were to open, 60
prisoners per week could be taken from the overcrowded prisons and brought
into the Stanley facility. (The News-Herald)
July 9, 2002
The controversial Stanley prison was
at the heart of a deal that finally capped six months of debate over how the
state should rid itself of a $1.1 billion budget deficit. Gov. Scott
McCallum and Rep. Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford)
struck the deal, which preserves prison jobs in Suder's
area. "The governor and I had a long conversation about the Stanley
prison, and we wound up saving 77 jobs that were scheduled to be laid off
because of the impending delay," Suder said.
"They will be retained at various institutions, including
Stanley." As part of the deal, the hiring of another 108 workers will
be accelerated, Suder said. "Scott proposed
a plan that places the Stanley workers in correctional facilities in the
area until the prison opens," McCallum said. "I believe his
approach is reasonable, and we will make it work." The budget includes
a Democratic Senate proposal that pushed back the opening of the 1,500-bed
facility near Chippewa Falls from Sept. 1 until Jan. 1. Other costs
associated with the prison mount as it awaits inmates. State taxpayers are
spending more than $350,000 a month for salaries, utilities and payment on
the prison. (The Journal Sentinel)
July 5, 2002
State Rep. Scott Suder is hoping to kill a budget
provision that would delay the opening of the Stanley prison in Chippewa
County by four months. Suder, R-Abbotsford, and
state Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, are pushing
Gov. Scott McCallum to eliminate a state budget provision that would delay
the prison's opening from Sept. 1 until January 2003. Senate Republicans
sharply criticized the delay. Zien said the
delayed opening unfairly toyed with the lives of people already working at
the prison and those of people who have been preparing to start their new
jobs. He also said opening the prison would allow the state to bring back
some of the prisoners now housed in out-of-state facilities because of
overcrowding at Wisconsin facilities (The gannet Wisconsin
).
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