Opinion ID: 2641219
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Conflicts with Other Supervisors

Text: In October 2008, Lobato filed an amendment to his EEOC charge, saying that a supervisor “directed [me] to move heavy items against department policy,” and that this supervisor “attempted to deny me medical treatment for [the resulting] injury” and made derogatory statements against him. Id. at 332. Soon after, during a month-long sick leave for the resulting injury, Lobato visited his workplace and discovered that others were using his office and that his office was missing various items. He called the police and accused his direct supervisor at the time, Salomon Romero, of stealing the items from his office. The resulting police report says Lobato eventually remembered that he had in fact given one of the items to Salomon Romero before his sick leave. No arrests or charges were filed. Later that fall, NMED selected Norman Norvelle as the new staff manager for the Farmington office. Norvelle replaced Salomon Romero, who had been the temporary replacement for Misseri. Thus, Norvelle became Lobato’s new direct supervisor. Concerned about his job status, Lobato confronted Norvelle on December 5. Lobato alleges that, during the confrontation, Norvelle touched -6- Lobato’s face with his finger. NMED disputes this allegation, saying that another employee witnessed the incident and reported that Norvelle never touched Lobato. In any event, Lobato called the police and pressed criminal battery charges against Norvelle—charges that were ultimately dismissed.