AUGUSTA (AP) – A former deputy chief of liquor enforcement has filed a lawsuit in federal court saying she lost her job because of her gender.

Holly Pomelow, 42, of Searsmont, says in her suit in U.S. District Court in Bangor that she was dismissed in retaliation for her activities as Equal Employment Opportunity officer for the Public Safety Department, and because of her gender.

Pomelow’s complaint, filed last Friday, also says former state police Lt. Col. Jeffrey Harmon recommended getting rid of the Liquor Enforcement Bureau as a way to terminate Pomelow. Her suit asks for reinstatement, damages and back pay. It also seeks a jury trial.

Pomelow joined the bureau in 1985 and took the EEO position two years later. She rose through the ranks to the deputy chief’s post.

The state has not yet responded to the complaint. But Assistant Attorney General Christopher Taub said it is similar to one filed by Pomelow in 2003 with the state Human Rights Commission, which did not find discrimination had occurred. Taub represented the state in the case before the Human Rights Commission.

Taub said no single person recommended eliminating the Liquor Enforcement Bureau, which was reorganized in 2003 after the Legislature voted to eliminate 16 positions to save $1.3 million. In doing so, lawmakers passed the agency’s investigative functions to local police agencies.

Pomelow’s court case is not expected to be ready for trial for a year.

Pomelow currently works as EEO coordinator for the state Health and Human Services Department.

Harmon, who is retired from state service, went to work for defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp.