Former LANL attorney alleges hostile treatment drove her from job
Apr. 29—A former Los Alamos National Laboratory attorney is suing the lab and its operations contractor, Triad National Security LLC, alleging she was driven out by an increasingly hostile environment after she complained about a supervisor's treatment of her.
Cristina Mulcahy, who worked as an attorney in the section that handles hazardous waste permitting, has accused her former supervisor of retaliation after she complained to managers about what she felt was inaccurate criticism from the supervisor, Mulcahy's attorney said.
Mulcahy, who filed the lawsuit in state District Court, also claims the lab's managers offered her no protection as her supervisor, Maxine McReynolds, stepped up her retaliation through hostile emails and what Mulcahy says were demeaning and inappropriate comments. McReynolds is named as a defendant in the case.
"She went through several channels, and no one protected her," Albuquerque attorney Frank Davis said. "She felt she had no other choice but to leave because she couldn't flourish in that environment, and it was taking a toll on her health."
In an email, a lab spokesman wrote the lab doesn't comment on pending litigation or personnel matters. During an attempt to reach McReynolds by phone, a man who answered said they had comment.
Mulcahy began working at the lab in September 2021. The next year, she received a glowing review from McReynolds, who told her she had exceeded expectations and that it was an unusual feat on a first evaluation, the lawsuit said.
But the relationship soured when McReynolds began criticizing Mulcahy's work based on inaccurate information and conclusions, Davis said.
Mulcahy had specialized legal knowledge no one else in the department had, including McReynolds, Davis said. He added that seemed to threaten McReynolds and to drive her to put Mulcahy in her place.
Mulcahy complained to superiors about what she viewed as McReynolds' unwarranted and unfair criticisms.
"Defendant McReynolds began sending plaintiff aggressive, harassing and accusatory emails," the lawsuit said. "In these emails McReynolds also made personal attacks against plaintiff."
McReynolds' emails ranged from mistakenly accusing Mulcahy of missing deadlines, being behind on projects and authorizing work to be performed by outside counsel, all which was inaccurate, the lawsuit claims.
During a meeting in which McReynolds had brought in a lab general counsel, Mulcahy complained about McReynolds' treatment of her, the lawsuit said, resulting in McReynolds retaliating by taking away a portion of Mulcahy's federal surface-water permitting work — for which she was hired — and giving it to an unqualified employee, the lawsuit claimed.
During follow-up meetings, the general counsel wouldn't address Mulcahy's complaints about McReynolds' continued abusive behavior, though Mulcahy had documents to prove it, the lawsuit said. The general counsel declined to assign Mulcahy a different supervisor and simply said the two must "reset" their communication and resolve their differences.
The general counsel and other managers should have interceded to protect Mulcahy rather than enabling McReynolds, but didn't, Davis said.
The treatment caused Mulcahy intense stress, eroding her health, Davis said.
McReynolds set conditions for how Mulcahy could work and take the leave but would ask questions like how long the leave would last and when she would follow up with the lab's occupational medicine staff on when the leave should end — all of which goes against the law, Davis said.
Mulcahy also alleges gender discrimination in part because a less-qualified man was hired at the same level as her and was treated better, the attorney said.
Although Mulcahy is seeking damages, she hopes the litigation can force a change in the work culture, he said.
"She doesn't want this to happen to anyone else," Davis said.
