ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD REJECTS DISCRIMINATION CASE
FILED AGAINST GOVERNMENT BY ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY

CLEVELAND, OH - The United States has prevailed in an environmental discrimination case filed by Gregory Sasse, an Assistant United States Attorney, the Justice Department and Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio announced today.

On January 30, 2004, the Administrative Board of Review for the Department of Labor issued its Final Decision and Order, rejecting the Recommended Decision and Order of the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The board found that the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not discriminate against Sasse and that he was not subject to a hostile work environment.

The Board also found that the complaint was untimely and that the prosecutorial discretion of the Attorney General precludes Department of Labor review of DOJ prosecution decisions. The Board vacated the ALJ’s Recommended and Supplemental Orders and Decisions which awarded Sasse $200,000 in punitive damages and attorneys fees and expenses. The case was handled jointly in the U.S. Attorney’s Office by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia W. Johnson and in the Executive Office of United States Attorneys by Assistant General Counsel, Carol A. Catherman.

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04-096