PORTLAND — A federal judge has ordered that certain documents produced by all parties in a whistle-blower lawsuit filed against the Department of Human Services by a former division director at the Maine Center for Disease Control may be designated as confidential in order to keep them private.
The order is standard in federal cases where discovery materials are filed electronically and are subject to public inspection by way of the Internet. Those documents include: confidential personal information, trade secrets, personnel records or commercial information. Documents that contain information available in the public sector may not be designated as confidential, according to the order.
If an opposing party believes a document or other submitted evidence should be made public, that party may file a motion and the presiding judge will issue an order.
Sharon Leahy-Lind is suing DHHS in U.S. District Court as well as Sheila Pinette, director of the Maine CDC, alleging Leahy-Lind’s bosses ordered her to shred public documents and harassed and discriminated against her when she refused.
She filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission before filing suit in federal court last fall.
A judge has yet to rule on motions to add a plaintiff and two defendants to the lawsuit.
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