BEDFORD, Pa.—Two women who are former western Pennsylvania county jail guards claim the former warden said "prison was not a place for women" and blatantly discriminated against female guards.

Donald Orr isn't named as a defendant in the federal lawsuit suit targeting Bedford County, but his alleged actions are the reason for it. The Associated Press could not immediately locate a telephone number for Orr who was hired as warden of the jail about 85 miles southeast of Pittsburgh in 2010 and resigned in June without explanation after being suspended with pay for several weeks during an internal county investigation.

The Altoona Mirror ( http://bit.ly/MlQTki) reports the female guards contend Orr gave males preferential treatment and prompted them to resign due to unbearable working conditions.

A county official says the lawsuit was not unexpected.

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Information from: Altoona Mirror, http://www.altoonamirror.com