A long-time employee of St. Joseph Church in Ellsworth is suing the Catholic diocese, saying she was fired in 2023 after reporting a priest’s discriminatory comments and concerning behavior to the church.

Monica Giordano filed a complaint in U.S. District Court on Thursday against the Catholic bishop of Portland, doing business as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. Giordano, 73 ,has accused the church of violating federal age discrimination laws and the Civil Rights Act. She has also accused the diocese of violating Maine’s human rights and whistleblower laws.

Members of the Maine Human Rights Commission ruled in October that there were “reasonable grounds” that the diocese violated the same state laws. Giordano and the diocese failed to reach an agreement following a several-month conciliation period.

“This is not a new claim,” diocese spokesperson Molly DiLorenzo wrote in an email Monday. “As an employee of the diocese, Ms. Giordano was not subjected to discrimination on the basis of age, sex, or religious affiliation. The diocese did not retaliate or take any other action against her because she engaged in any protected activity or communication.”

Giordano’s attorney Laura White wrote in an email Monday: “Even if the parties dispute the facts, the documents in this case speak for themselves. The defendant is a large employer in the State of Maine that should know better than to treat a loyal, longtime employee so horribly.”

Giordano worked as an administrative assistant at St. Joseph for more than 20 years, handling finances, scheduling and some technology needs, according to her complaint. Giordano is an ordained congregational minister, and has faced some criticism at St. Joseph for not being Catholic, her complaint stated.

Much of Giordano’s complaint focuses on the conduct of the Rev. Emile Dube, who was a priest at St. Joseph. Giordano alleged that in early 2023, Dube’s behavior had become “increasingly impulsive and reactionary, with inappropriate displays of anger in the workplace.”

Attempts to reach Dube on Monday were unsuccessful. He retired from active ministry in 2024, according to an announcement from the diocese that year. DiLorenzo said it was because he reached the diocese’s standard age for retirement.

Giordano accused Dube of treating her differently from male peers because she’s a woman, and making several discriminatory remarks about her age and her ability to do her job. According to the complaint, after she asked in early April 2023 to discuss their Easter bulletin, Dube had a “temper tantrum” and “engaged in assaultive behavior” by throwing papers into her face and violating her personal space.

That same month, the complaint stated, Dube threatened to dock Giordano’s pay to cover heating expenses, after she told him she had lost her key for the thermostat at home.

Giordano reported these incidents to the diocese’s director of personnel, Elizabeth Allen, who reportedly told Giordano she should look for another job, according to the complaint. When Giordano asked that her complaints be kept confidential, the complaint said, Allen told her that meant there was nothing she could do to help.

In May 2023, according to the complaint, the diocese’s Monsignor Marc Caron notified Dube of Giordano’s complaints.

“Caron minimized the veracity of Giordano’s complaint, informing Dube that: ‘this employee has a history of making complaints against her supervisors in this position,’ which was a violation of personnel policies and the Diocesan Code of Ethics,” according to the lawsuit. “Moreover, Caron’s statement to Dube is direct evidence that Giordano’s complaint was not believed or credited by RCBP.”

Neither Caron nor Allen responded to requests for comment through DiLorenzo.

According to the complaint, Allen and Dube held a meeting with Giordano in Ellsworth that July, before issuing a “memo of behavioral actions,” which said her “accusations and rumors need to stop” and that it was “extremely difficult to continue to employ her.” She was fired a week later.

During the Maine Human Rights Commission hearing in October, attorney James Haddow for the diocese said that Dube denied Giordano’s allegations, aside from admitting “to saying words like ‘you may be aging out of this job’ or ‘you may be getting too old for this job.'”

Haddow said an office manager who sat near Giordano also testified that they had never observed the alleged incidents, including the reported paper throwing.