By LEE HINNANT

An administrative law judge has ruled that a supervisor at the Department of Social Services sexually harassed a caseworker, then retaliated by creating a hostile work environment when the caseworker complained about being mistreated.

Further, the judge ruled that supervisor Becky Williamson and DSS Director Marva Scott “allowed and essentially condoned (Ethel) Patrick’s harassment” of caseworker Deena Ward.

In a ruling issued last week, Administrative Law Judge Melissa Owens Lassiter awarded Ward 10 days back pay for her unwarranted suspension and also attorney’s fees. A source familiar with the case, who asked not to be identified, said those fees would be roughly $30,000 to $40,000.

The case now goes for review by the State Personnel Commission, which could decide to award damages. Two sources familiar with the case said they expect the matter to soon land in federal court in Wake County.

The judge stated that DSS’s disciplinary actions against Ward, including many conferences with supervisors, “were petty and retaliatory in nature” in violation of state law. The judge wrote that DSS’s claim that Ward did unsatisfactory work was wrong.

Supervisor Patrick, the judge ruled, was “an unbelievable witness” who “harassed, sexually harassed and created a hostile work environment for” Ward.

Ward, who was hired in 1999, was the subject of supervisor Patrick’s unwanted attention beginning in April 2001, according to the ruling last week. This included unwanted touching, staring and personal questions by Patrick, even after being asked to stop, the ruling stated.

Under the pretext of determining whether Ward was complying with the DSS dress code, Patrick called Ward into her office to measure the length of her skirts, including outfits she had “measured” before and skirts that Ward wore to church. This occasional ritual became an almost daily happening after Marva Scott came on as director in March 2003, the ruling stated.

The ruling stated that Ward’s complaints had only a temporary effect on the problem and that Scott did not address the issue.

Ward’s complaints led to her receiving an excessive amount of work, including a disproportionate number of cases where files were in error or lacking complete information, the ruling stated. Ward was denied administrative leave to attend the funeral of her father-in-law, while another employee was granted administrative leave for the funeral of a step-grandmother, according to the ruling.

Ward discovered that her computer was tampered with and that some files had been altered and some e-mails had been deleted, the ruling stated. She was banned from using e-mail to correspond with her supervisors.

When Patrick sent Ward home for what Patrick called a dress code violation on September 2, 2004, Ward visited then-County Manager Billy Joe Farmer and commissioners Bill Memory, David Dutton and Sammie Jacobs. “These commissioners and Farmer concluded that (Ward’s) attire did not constitute a violation of the dress code policy,” the ruling stated.

Ward filed a formal grievance with the state in November 2004 and sought counseling for work-related stress, the ruling stated. In January 2005, she filed other formal grievances against the DSS governing board because they failed to address her complaints and failed to give her a hearing, as required by county policy.

Ward was also called to several conferences with DSS supervisors, at least one of which became a screaming match, the ruling stated. The ruling said that the “complaints” lodged against Ward by supervisors were unsubstantiated and merely part of their need to control Ward.

Scott suspended Ward for 10 days without pay in June 2005 following one of the supervisory conferences. She did not provide a written statement for her specific reasons, in violation of state law, the ruling stated.

The case has involved hearings in both Raleigh and Carolina Beach. In the spring of 2006, the judge sent the matter to mediation, but Scott refused to attend, a source said. Scott also turned down an offer to settle the matter for $25,000, the source said.

Ward is currently on leave from DSS.

Scott, County Attorney Steve Fowler and Board of Commissioners Chairman Kip Godwin all declined to comment.