Francisco Quiñones Rivera, secretary of Puerto Rico's Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DCR), responded Thursday to a new labor complaint filed against him, saying the female complainant is not under his supervision and that he has "never" spoken with her. He noted his focus remains on serving DCR's 5,442 employees, 7,187 incarcerated people, and 6,716 people supervised in the community. The complaint, filed April 17 with the Office of the Women's Advocate by a pregnant employee, alleges a pattern of sex and pregnancy discrimination, workplace harassment, and retaliation.
This is the fifth complaint against Quiñones Rivera, who was recently nominated to the judiciary but whose nomination Governor Jenniffer González withdrew after Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz advised against it. Quiñones Rivera said he previously stayed silent, maintaining "the discipline of silence I learned during my 12 years as a judge," and said he rejects all four prior complaints (alleging sexual harassment, workplace harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation), claiming they aim to remove him from office. He cited achievements: reducing inmate deaths from 79 in 2024 to 22 so far this year, a $8,960.04 annual raise for 3,547 employees, and an ongoing process to select a new healthcare provider for the inmate population.
Public Affairs Secretary and La Fortaleza spokesman Jean Peña Payano defended him, saying the complaint targets a supervisor role, not Quiñones Rivera personally.