A former employee that oversaw the civil division in the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Office is taking legal action against the county, claiming she was wrongfully terminated after enduring months of workplace harassment and gender discrimination that officials turned a blind eye to.
Ileen Varno filed a summons against the county, Sheriff Dominic Dagostino, Undersheriff James Barrett and Lt. Michael Geraci last week, alleging her civil rights were violated and she endured workplace violence and retaliation under New York State Human Rights Law.
Varno, who said she worked for the county for 19 years until her position was terminated last April, said the alleged harassment dates back to late 2019, when Geraci was promoted and began overseeing her department. The Times Union first reported the summons had been filed.
She said Geraci looked down on women and called into question her work despite not having a firm understanding of how the civil office operates in an attempt to intimidate her.
“Only because I’m a female and I know that,” she said.
In early 2020, not long after the pandemic took root in New York, Geraci asked the civil office to begin filing affidavits on behalf of police officers amid reduced staffing in her office necessitated by the virus. When she refused, Geraci and Barrett became angry, telling her “it was women’s work,” Varno said.
“The culture is, in my opinion, if you don’t do it as the man says, we have no use for you,” she said, adding she was never...
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