Ex-JROTC director files discrimination suit vs PSS

Lt. Col. Robert L. Gay has filed in federal court a discrimination lawsuit against the Public School System for allegedly harassing him in order to replace him with a local as director of Army Instruction of the Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps.

Gay, through counsel Colin M. Thompson, is suing PSS for harassment based on race and retaliation.

Gay asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI to order PSS to pay him an appropriate amount of back pay with prejudgment interest plus an appropriate amount of front pay.

Gay asked the court to hold PSS liable for his medical expenses incurred as a result of the hostile work environment, plus compensatory and punitive damages.

According to Thompson in the complaint filed on Tuesday, Gay served as the director of Army Instruction (DAI) of JROTC for PSS from February 2007 through February 2012.

Gay returned to the CNMI and again served as DAI in October 2012 and continuing through January 2016.

Thompson said the director of JROTC United States Army Cadet Command (USACC) confirms all DAIs.

A DAI must successfully serve for two years as a Senior Army Instructor (SAI) before the USACC will consider a candidate for a DAI position.

Thompson said sometime during late July or early August 2013, USACC informed the Board of Education that USACC was going to put the Rota High School JROTC program on probation because the Rota JROTC program lacked a qualified SAI.

According to USACC regulations, an SAI must be commissioned officer with a four-year degree.

Thompson said during the 23-plus years that the Rota JROTC program has been existence, the Rota JROTC program never had a qualified commissioned officer with a four-year degree to serve as SAI because the Rota program is extremely remote.

Thompson said USACC previously exempted the Rota JROTC program from the SAI requirement, but in 2012, the SAI requirement for the Rota JROTC program was initiated.

Thompson said Education Commissioner Dr. Rita A. Sablan and other Board of Education members, including chairman Herman T. Guerrero, told other people that BOE was holding Gay personally responsible because the USACC placed the JROTC program on probation.

Thompson said this was a pretext used by the BOE to justify removing Gay from the DAI position in order that an unqualified Chamorro man, retired Col. Harry Blanco, could take Gay’s position as DAI.

In reality, the lawyer said, chair Guerrero, commissioner Sablan, the BOE, and other PSS leadership personnel were responsible for the Rota JROTC’s probationary status “because of their prejudicial conduct and hostility toward non-Chamorros.”

Thompson said PSS’ efforts to remove Gay from the DAI position began when Blanco told Guerrero sometime in September or October 2013, that Blanco was returning to the CNMI in February 2014.

Thompson said Blanco quickly made clear that he wanted to be the DAI for the CNMI JROTC district when he applied for the DAI position in October 2013, even though Gay’s DAI contract was not set to expire until October 2014.

Thompson said Blanco was not qualified to be a DAI because he never served as SAI for two years as required by federal regulations.

The lawyer said Gay met with commissioner Sablan in September 2013 regarding the fact that the USACC placed the Rota JROTC program on probation.

Thompon said during this meeting, Sablan yelled at Gay in a denigrating manner.

He said Sablan blamed Gay for the fact that the USACC has placed the Rota JROTC program on probation.

Thompson said Sablan repeatedly harassed Gay by repeatedly informing Gay that chairman Guerrero was upset that the USACC placed the Rota JROTC program on probation.

At the beginning of February 2014, Sablan called a meeting in which she allegedly stated that she had “made up her mind” and that she was reassigning Gay to the Rota JROTC program for five months.

After the February meeting, Sablan allegedly directed Gay’s immediate supervisor, associate commissioner of instructional services Jackie Quitugua to undermine Gay.

Thompson said Quitugua called and emailed Gay’s federal supervisors at the 8th Brigade in Fort Lewis, Washington and questioned them regarding Gay’s performance and insinuated that Gay was doing a poor job as DAI of the CNMI District.

Gay reported the conduct of Guerrero, Sablan, Quitugua, and other PSS leadership to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on March 23, 2014.

Thompson said immediately after PSS received a copy of Gay’s EEOC complaint, PSS leadership, including Guerrero, Sablan, and Quitugua, ceased almost all communication with Gay and Gay’s staff.

Thompson said that in March 2014, Guerrero, Sablan, and other PSS staff further retaliated against Gay by misappropriating thousands of dollars from a special fund set aside for the JROTC program by Commonwealth law, to fund a one-week trip taken by Quitugua and Blanco to meet with Gay’s immediate USACC supervisors in Washington.

Thompson said the purpose of the meeting was to undermine Gay to his immediate USACC superiors at the 8th Brigade and to convince the USACC to waive the two-year SAI requirement in order that Blanco be permitted to become the DAI for the CNMI.

Thompson said Guerrero, Sablan, and other PSS staff took $5,000 each month from the JROTC fund in order to hire Blanco as a JROTC consultant based on Blanco’s alleged “JROTC expertise.”

Thompson said Blanco has no JROTC expertise whatsoever prior to the date on which PSS hired him as its “expert” consultant.

In accordance with PSS regulations, Gay submitted his request for renewal of his contract on April 16, 2014, more than six months prior to the expiration of the contract.

Thompson said Gay did not receive a notice of renewal or non-renewal, nor did he receive a new employment contract prior to Oct. 25, 2015, the day on which his contract was set to expire.

In July 2014, Gay learned that PSS intended to offer him a one-year contract instead of a two-year contract as a matter of harassment and retaliation.

Thompson said the actions taken by Guerrero, Sablan, BOE, and other BOE staff, including Quitugua, aggravated and exacerbated Gay’s preexisting PTSD condition, which caused Gay extreme emotional distress.

Thompson said as a result, Gay sought medical treatment for his PTSD.