Harassment of 2 women alleged

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a discrimination lawsuit against a company, alleging it harassed older female security officers based on their age and sex.

According to the suit, Jeanette Chang and Cathleen Gabayan and other women were subjected to a hostile work environment when they worked for Safeguard Services Inc.

Since July 2004, the suit alleges, a supervisor repeatedly verbally abused Chang and Gabayan, then ages 61 and 54, calling them “;deaf old lady”; and “;grandma,”; and casting foul aspersions. When company officials learned of the abuse, the commission said, administrators failed to take steps to prevent or correct the supervisor's actions. The suit also alleged that Chang was forced to resign because of the hostile environment.

In a news release, EEOC regional attorney Anna Park said, “;These women faced a double dose of discrimination based on their age and sex - and the company did nothing to stop it.”;

The commission is seeking back wages, compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief remedies to ensure equal employment opportunity in the workplace.

Spike Denis, former chief executive officer of Safeguard Services, and the company's attorney, Richard Rand, declined to comment, saying they did not see the lawsuit or were not made aware of it.

Bus driver caught playing on job

Oahu Transit Services Inc. suspended a bus driver pending an investigation after he was apparently playing a video game while operating a city bus from Pearl City to town.

About 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a passenger used her cellular phone to take a video of the bus driver playing a video game while operating the bus. Several passengers were aboard the Route 54 bus.

After the passenger exited, she called Oahu Transit Services about 4:40 p.m. to report the incident. A road supervisor intercepted the bus at the Alapai Transit Center within 15 minutes of the call.

It was the driver's last trip of the day. Roger Morton, president and general manager of Oahu Transit, said the supervisor admonished the bus driver for his action. Officials suspended him the following morning.

The bus driver, an 18-year veteran, has a good employment record. But Morton said operating a video game while operating the city bus is an outrageous act.

Mother deemed unfit for trial

A state judge determined yesterday that a woman accused of trying to kill her 3-year-old daughter is unfit to stand trial for attempted murder and ordered her transferred to the Hawaii State Hospital.

Elly Rivera, 26, is in custody at Oahu Community Correctional Center unable to post $250,000 bail.

Circuit Judge Patrick Border has scheduled another hearing in December to get an update on Rivera's mental fitness and establish whether she was insane at the time of the alleged crime.

Police arrested Rivera Feb. 24 after an ambulance took her daughter from the family's Hickam Air Force Base housing unit to Kaiser Medical Center in critical condition. Rivera's son told police his mother tried to choke his sister, according to court records.

Rivera repeatedly told her husband that voices told her they would kill and burn her children and that she did not want them to suffer, police said.