A former deputy director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the department alleging she was the target of workplace discrimination because she is a gay white woman.

The lawsuit by former deputy director for correctional institutions, Pamela Sturz, singles out DCR Director Tommy Johnson for alleged acts of discrimination that “were intentional, relentless, and ongoing” after Johnson learned Sturz was married to a woman.

Sturz is a veteran prison warden who ran two adult facilities and a juvenile lockup during her nearly 28 years with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. She began work in Hawaiʻi as deputy director for correctional institutions on Feb. 13, 2024, but was fired after a 10-month tenure.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges Johnson told Sturz on Jan. 2 that he was terminating her “for not having control of the correctional institutions,” but did not explain what it was Sturz had failed to control.

“Ms. Sturz’s termination was entirely based on the illegal grounds of sex, sexual orientation and race discrimination and retaliation,” according to the lawsuit. It also alleges she was subjected to harassment and a hostile work environment, and that her firing violates the Hawai’i Whistleblower Protection Act.

Toni Schwartz, public information officer for the state Attorney General’s Office, and Rosemarie Bernardo, public information officer for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, both declined to comment on the complaint Wednesday, saying their offices had not yet been served with the lawsuit.

It alleges Johnson first became aware Sturz was gay when she was sworn in as deputy director in a ceremony attended by Sturz’s wife.

“Almost immediately after the swearing-in ceremony, Ms. Sturz began to experience an onslaught of sexual harassment, discrimination, hostility and unfair treatment from Johnson on the basis of her sex (female), her race (white) and her sexual orientation (gay),” according to the lawsuit.

The suit does not specify how Johnson allegedly discriminated against Sturz for her race or gender. It alleges Johnson would yell at her, and engage in “belittling and harassing” behavior that was witnessed by other staff.

He also held her responsible for tasks related to the development of a new Oʻahu jail — work that was not part of her job — and eventually used issues related to that controversial project as a pretext to fire her, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also cites an odd chain of events in January days after Sturz was notified she was being fired.

According to the suit, Johnson told Sturz she was being terminated, and later drafted a memo leaving her in charge of the department while he traveled to an American Correctional Association conference. He allegedly sent an email instructing his top-level staff to not bother him on the trip “unless it was an emergency.”

“This email further demonstrates that Ms. Sturz’s termination had nothing to do with her professional and leadership abilities within DCR and everything to do with her sexual orientation as a gay white female,” according to the lawsuit.

Sturz’s firing was supposed to be effective Feb. 28, but according to the lawsuit Sturz began suffering chest pains and “became physically and mentally unable to continue working due to the trauma of being wrongfully terminated.” She turned in her keys and ID cards and went on leave Jan. 15.

The lawsuit also portrays the Hawaiʻi correctional system as deeply troubled, alleging that upon her arrival Sturz encountered a system that is “catastrophically behind” mainland correctional systems in many ways.

Among the deficiencies cited are high levels of staff vacancies, a problem the department has been trying to address by stepping up recruitment and increasing the number of training classes it runs each year for corrections officers.

Johnson told lawmakers earlier this year that the department has 1,535 positions for corrections officers, and 434 of those were vacant as of last Nov. 30.

When Sturz arrived, the impact of staff vacancies on the inmate population was at a “critical state, with numerous inmate suicides and serious assaults, including assaults resulting in death,” according to the lawsuit.

“Although there is an inherent risk of violence in confinement situations, the sheer number of serious inmate incidents and in-­custody deaths at DCR were extremely high and not being timely or properly addressed,” the lawsuit stated.

Investigations of inmate deaths that occurred three years earlier were “still being slowly moved through the investigation process,” according to the lawsuit, while staff suspected of on-duty criminal misconduct continued to work in a “no inmate contact” capacity while awaiting criminal investigations.

The department is also “catastrophically behind” mainland facilities in providing programs for prisoners “or humane living conditions and basic human rights for all inmates,” according to the lawsuit.

“Upon Ms. Sturz’s arrival at DCR, the foregoing deficiencies, coupled with significant staff vacancies in both security and human services positions, and key staff training deficiencies, presented a ‘perfect storm’ in which DCR staff felt unappreciated, low morale was rampant, and the needs of inmates were not being met,” the suit stated.

It seeks lost wages as well as general, special and punitive damages.