Civil Rights

PORTLAND, Maine — A federal court in Maine dismissed all claims brought against the town of Westbrook and several of its officials, who were sued by a former employee for sex discrimination. His supervisor allegedly treated him differently not because he was a man, but because he replaced the supervisor’s paramour, which would not constitute sex discrimination if true.

Residents at the decade-old encampment worried city officials would throw out their belongings, leaving them in an even more precarious state.

The bill, which cleanly repeals the Civil War-era ban that provides no exceptions for rape or incest, now must receive a majority vote from the state Senate.