PORTLAND — A former employee is suing Oxford County Mental Health Services, claiming she was fired last year for reporting violations managers ignored.

Linda Perry of Rumford filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Monday, claiming her rights under Maine’s Whistleblower Protection Act and Human Rights Act were violated when senior management terminated her job March 21, 2013, in retaliation for raising concerns of breaches in state and federal law.

Perry alleges the company violated regulations for maintaining proper client care. OCMHS receives Maine Medicaid and MaineCare reimbursements for patients, which comes with subsequent regulations on their care.

Among various services the organization provides are psychiatric counseling, crisis response and residential outpatient care.

It employs over 60 people between two sites in Rumford and South Paris.

Perry has filed a motion for an injunction, asking to be reinstated at her job, receive back pay and be awarded court fees and damages.

The lawsuit stems from Perry’s time as a staffer at Andy’s Place, a four-bed community residence and rehabilitation program for people suffering from mental illness. She was assigned to work there after being hired in 2010.

Executive Director Stephanie LeBlanc, who took over when then-director Ron McHugh retired in June, said she was aware that a conference over the issue had been cancelled, but declined to comment on the case prior to consulting a lawyer.

The lawsuit cited alleged incidents in which patients did not receive counseling or other services from staffers, which amounted to “neglect.” Specifically, treatment plans known as Individual Service Plans, which under state and federal requirements must be updated every 90 days, routinely expired and became obsolete, limiting the effectiveness of treatment.

According to the complaint, Perry repeatedly brought the situation to managers during staff meetings, but the claims were ignored. On one occasion, Perry reportedly told a manager a patient was exhibiting symptoms and in need of clinical intervention, though no changes in their care was made.

The complaint states the organization mischaracterized her concerns in a Sept. 13, 2013, letter in response to a complaint Perry filed with the Maine Human Rights Commission. 

According to the lawsuit, the center dismissed her reports and suggested she had a feud with her supervisor, Susan Hamel.

During a staff meeting March 20, Perry reportedly raised concerns about the possible violations and suggested that Andy’s Place was “falling apart,” information she felt no one had acted upon, according to the lawsuit.

She was fired the next day.

The lawsuit references Perry’s termination notice, claiming the reasons given, including that she “refused supervision” and exhibited aggressive, disrespectful behavior during the March 20 meeting, are false.

The mental health service started in 1994 under the name Greater Rumford Alliance for the Mentally Ill and was incorporated in 2001 as a charitable organization. In 2007, Andy’s Place opened on Congress Street in Rumford.