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Border Patrol Agents Win Discrimination Case
Border Patrol Agents Edward Redondo and Sherry Feltner had been living together for approximately eight years when Ms. Feltner was promoted to Patrol Agent In Charge of the Temecula Border Patrol Station. Agent Redondo, a
Hispanic male, and Agent Feltner, a white female, moved to Temecula as a requirement of accepting the promotion. The Border Patrol refused to let Mr. Redondo transfer to the Temecula Station because Redondo would be in his
girlfriend's chain of command. Yet, his commute from Temecula to his station in Imperial Beach was 75 miles.
Redondo applied for a compassionate transfer to the Riverside Border Patrol Station--the closest work place to his
wife's station. That was denied. Mr. Redondo then applied for a spousal transfer under INS Rules permitting relocation of married agents to the same station or different station separated by brief travel times. That request was also denied on the basis that they
weren't married. Agents Redondo and Feltner then married to meet the
Agency's requirement that they be a husband and wife rather than common-law. A new spousal transfer request was submitted which was also denied.
In the meantime, Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Redondo attempted to transfer to the Riverside Station through the promotional process. When a vacant position in Riverside opened and a younger, less experienced white male was promoted, Mr. Redondo suspected discrimination.
The agents hired Mike Lackie of Lackie & Dammeier LLP to investigate and represent them in a potential discrimination complaint against the INS. His investigation revealed that spousal transfers were routinely approved for white couples but not for
Hispanics or mixed marriages. In addition, there was clear evidence that the Chief Patrol Agent for the San Diego sector had ordered the
Redondos' spousal transfer request be denied and that the open vacancy to which Redondo was entitled not be given to him.
A complaint of race, national origin and gender discrimination was filed against the INS with the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Under Federal rules, the Redondos were given a hearing before a Federal Administrative Law Judge. Represented by Mr. Lackie, four days of witness testimony and documentary evidence were presented to establish that discrimination was the real reason for the transfer and promotion denials. The Border Patrol defended that the agents were merely victims of bureaucratic snafoos and administrative red tape. Mr. Lackie established that the
Agency's responses were nothing but excuses through testimony by agency employees who handled the Redondo-Feltner transfer requests and by presenting evidence that only white couples were moved. A history of discrimination against
Hispanics was evident during the proceedings .
The Administrative Judge decided that Mr. Redondo was the victim of discrimination. In a lengthy written decision, the Judge found the
Agency's explanations for their mistreatment of the agents to be excuses at best and untruthfulness at worst. The Judge ordered the INS to transfer Agent Redondo to the next available position in Riverside, reimbursement for the cost of commuting to and from work over and above what he would have incurred had he been transferred to Riverside as requested, that the Agency post the
Judge's findings that discrimination had occurred, that Mr. Redondo be awarded compensatory damages in conformity with the 1991 Civil Rights Act, and that the Agency pay Mr.
Redondo's attorneys fees and costs.
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