Manning-Martin Sues State, Governor for Discrimination

Peabody city councilor Anne Manning-Martin is suing the state Department of Corrections, the governor's office and other related state agencies for what she claims is political relatiation for her sister's sharp criticism of Gov. Deval Patrick.

Manning-Martin says she lost her top job at a DOC hospital last year days after disclosing to her supervisors she had cancer and needed to take a medical leave for treatment, reports the Boston Herald.

She underwent treatment over a 4-6 week leave and made a full recovery, but another man was hired to her post and paid a starting salary substantially larger than her's, according to a suit filed in U.S. District Court in Boston on Thursday, reports the Herald.

The suit says Manning-Martin was hired back to another administrative role at the same hospital, but with little responsibility.

Manning-Martin's sister, Mary-Ellen Manning, served for 11 years on the Governor's Council, which approves Patrick's judicial appointments, before making an unsuccessful run for the state Senate this past fall.

In both positions Manning was often highly critical of Patrick, other state agencies and the culture on Beacon Hill, and Manning-Martin candidly supported her sister, particularly sharing many of those remarks over social media during last year's campaign.

The lawsuit claims that was motivation to remove Manning-Martin from her post as Deputy Superintendent of the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain.

For more on this story, see the Boston Herald report here.