The official, James T. Hayes Jr., also accuses the agency’s chief of staff, Suzanne Barr, of “sexually offensive behavior” that contributed to a discriminatory work environment for male employees. The top Homeland Security official accused of cultivating a "frat-house"-style work environment has "voluntarily placed herself on leave" amid an internal review, the department told FoxNews.com late Tuesday evening -- just hours after FoxNews.com contacted the agency about new allegations against her. The discrimination lawsuit, which names Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary, as the sole defendant, was filed in May by Mr. Hayes, special agent in charge of investigations for the agency’s New York office. Brian Hale, director of public affairs for ICE, said the agency “will respond directly and strongly to this lawsuit in court.” He added that the misconduct allegations were referred to internal affairs investigators at Homeland Security and ICE. While Napolitano is named as the sole defendant, Hayes' suit focuses on Barr and Dora Schriro, who joined DHS in February 2009, five months after Hayes was promoted to director of ICE Detention and Removal Operations. Hayes claims Schriro, who was brought on as a special adviser to Napolitano, was not qualified for the job because she lacked law enforcement experience. Ms. Schriro had previously served as head of both Missouri’s and Arizona’s correction departments. She left Homeland Security in 2009 and is currently the commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction.
– A federal worker who says he lost out on a plum job because he is a man has filed a discrimination lawsuit naming Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano as the sole defendant. What's more, James T. Hayes also alleges that a high-ranking official in Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office "created a frat house-type atmosphere that is targeted to humiliate and intimidate male employees," reports the New York Times. That official, Suzanne Barr, has gone on paid leave as an investigation into the allegations continues, notes Fox News. They came to light after Hayes says he got passed over in favor of a woman who he says wasn't qualified. He says she got the job because she had a "long-standing relationship" with Napolitano—"and because he was not female," according to the lawsuit.