Sep 15, 2005 - 06:01:30 CDT
WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court has ruled that Jane Turner, an FBI whistleblower who accused the agency of discrimination and retaliation, may seek monetary damages and a jury trial.Turner accused male FBI agents of mishandling several cases of sexual abuse in Indian Country and alleged her superiors transferred her from Minot, N.D., to Minneapolis in retaliation for complaints about sexual discrimination.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling Aug. 30, said Turner had sufficient evidence to justify a trial over whether the transfer was in retaliation for her complaints. But the judges dismissed Turner's claims that she worked in a hostile environment and was a victim of discrimination because of her gender.
An FBI spokeswoman said the agency would not comment on the case because the litigation is ongoing.
"I am very pleased that after all these years, we have vindication on retaliation happening in the FBI," Turner said Wednesday.
Turner has a separate case against the agency alleging wrongful termination under the Whistleblower Act. She said the agency started termination proceedings against her after she triggered an internal investigation into the agency's removal of souvenir debris from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York.
Turner noticed a Tiffany globe paperweight on a secretary's desk in the Minneapolis FBI office in August 2002. After learning it came from the World Trade Center, she brought the globe to the attention of the inspector general.
She resigned in October 2003 before the termination proceedings could be completed.
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