A discrimination suit filed by a former employee of the Department of Human and Social Services in January 2017 is one of the cases that ASG is paying in an out of court settlement under an appropriations bill that Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga has submitted to the Fono.
Simeonica Tuiteleleapaga, an employee of DHSS from 1995 to 2022, alleges in a civil suit filed in the Honolulu Federal District Court that, in late 2016, she was subjected to discrimination based on her sex. Specifically, that DHSS subjected her to a hostile work environment because she is a transgender women.
The suit says that the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found reasonable cause to believe that Tuiteleleapaga was subjected to a hostile work environment based on her sex. After the EEOC was unsuccessful in resolving the complaint through voluntary reconciliation efforts, it referred the matter to the US Dept. of Justice.
At the root of the complaint was an incident in which the late Director of DHSS Taeaoafua, Dr. Meki Solomona, directed degrading and embarrassing remarks concerning Tuiteleleapaga’s gender in front of staff. His remarks were recorded by another employee.
Lasty Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey Morrison filed a notice of settlement with the Honolulu federal court. According to the notice, the US government with the consent of the defendant and ASG through its counsel notified the court that the parties have reached an agreement in resolution of this atter via a proposed consent decree.
The parties also requested that the court stay the proceedings in this case for 120 days to allow for the finalization of an appropriations by the American Samoa Government for funding to fulfill its obligations under the agreement.
According to the $278,000 appropriations bill that the Governor has sent to the Fono, $100,000 is for the Simeonica Tuiteleleapaga/DOL vs. ASG and DHSS consent decree.
