Assaulting an inmate is reasonable grounds to be fired, says Human Rights Commission

by Sharon Wachsler

Media coverage of the Maine Human Rights Commission rulings on disability discrimination complaints have been appearing pretty frequently lately. The Friday edition of the Kennebec Journal carried an article entitled, "Commission told Franklin County Jail guard not fired for disability."

Robert Shufelt of Jay was a corrections officer at the Franklin County Jail who was fired after he assaulted an inmate. Shufelt, who represented himself in the complaint, contends that he was fired because of a mental disability. According to the KJ article,

Shufelt argues in the commission report that another officer at the jail assaulted an inmate and wasn’t fired.

Hard to know which part of that argument is most problematic! (The other officer who assaulted an inmate was investigated, suspended without pay, and warned that if there was another incident, he would be fired.) The Commission said that Shufelt provided no proof that he was fired due to his mental condition.

Read the whole article here.