May 4, 2017 by

New York Court Finds Army Reservists Did Not Show Discrimination After Denial of Vacation and Sick Benefits

By Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke

In Matter of Andrews v. State, a group of Army Reservists that were also employed by the New York Department of Corrections alleged the Department had the violated Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act after they were denied vacation and sick leave credit during their military absences. A New York court found the officers had failed to offer proof that other employees had received vacation and sick credit while on comparable types of leave and therefore could not continue on with their lawsuit.

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Filed Under: Discrimination, USERRA
May 4, 2017 by

Michigan District Court Finds Two White Police Officers Experienced Reverse Discrimination

By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke

In O’Brien v. City of Benton Harbor, two white Michigan police officers alleged they experienced reverse race discrimination after the black city manager terminated them so that he could promote a black employee to police chief. A District Court in Michigan found the officers had direct evidence to support their alleged claim of discrimination because the city manager told officers they were the wrong color to be the chief because they were not black.

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Filed Under: Discrimination, Race Discrimination
May 1, 2017 by

Alabama District Court Finds Police Officer Did Not Experience Sexual Harassment After Police Chief Repeatedly Hits Him In Groin

By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke

In Pipes v. City of Falkville, a former Alabama police officer and chaplain alleged he was the victim of sexual harassment after the Police Chief hit his groin area on two occasions. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama disagreed and found there was no evidence this was done because of the officer’s sex.  The Court ruled that it was merely horseplay.

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Filed Under: Discrimination, Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination
May 1, 2017 by

D.C. K-9 Unit Police Officer Who Suffered Injury During Dog Training Exercise Can Pursue Her Claim of Retaliation

By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke

In Elmore v. Washington Metro Area Transit Authority, a former District of Columbia female K-9 unit police officer was found to have a triable retaliation claim after she was injured during a dog training exercise. The City argued that every officer was required to participate in the training but the District Court found that because the officer was injured and her supervisor continued to require the officer to participate, the officer could pursue her lawsuit.

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Filed Under: Discrimination, Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination
April 24, 2017 by

Alabama District Court Finds Police Dispatcher Was Not Discriminated Against After She Was Terminated For Failing to Update Responding Officers to Presence of Gun

By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke

In Matthews v. City of Mobile, an African American police dispatcher in Alabama was terminated from her position after failing to update officers responding to a call of the presence of an armed suspect. The dispatcher argued that she was being discriminated against and retaliated against for previously filing EEOC complaints. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama disagreed and found the dispatcher had failed to demonstrate she had been treated differently than similarly situated co-workers and dismissed her claims.

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Filed Under: Discrimination, Race Discrimination
April 17, 2017 by

Michigan Police Officer Disability Claims Rejected Due to Aberrant Behavior

By: Loyd Willaford and Brittany Torrence

In Michael v. City of Troy Police Dep’t, the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected former Michigan police officer Todd Michael’s discrimination claims.  It ruled that, even though Michael suffered from a brain tumor, his “odd and disturbing” behavior and the opinions of two psychologists suggesting that he was no longer fit to do police work meant the City was justified in not allowing Michael to return to work.

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Filed Under: Disability Discrimination, Discrimination
April 6, 2017 by

Tennessee Corrections Officer Was Not Discriminated Against When County Had Reinstated Him After Wrongful But Brief Termination

By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke

In Parker v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville, a former Tennessee corrections officer was terminated after his FMLA leave expired. After recognizing its mistake, the sheriff’s office quickly reinstated the officer and placed him on a disability pension. The officer sued alleging both FMLA retaliation and ADA violations. The US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville division, found that because the officer was quickly reinstated, no adverse employment action had occurred and therefore the officer could not state a claim under either statute.

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Filed Under: Disability Discrimination, Discrimination
April 6, 2017 by

Female Deputy Sheriff in Oklahoma May Pursue Gender Discrimination Claim After Termination for Employment Application Deceit and Smoking Policy Violations

By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke

In Kopf v. Bd. Of County Comm’r of Cnty of Canadian, a female deputy sheriff for Canadian County, Oklahoma was discharged after she violated the department’s smoking policy and made false statements on her employment application. The female officer alleged other male deputy sheriffs had committed these same violations but were not terminated.  The female officer filed a gender discrimination claim against the County. The County filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing the reasons for the officer’s termination were legitimate. An Oklahoma District Court disagreed, and found the officer had presented enough evidence to survive the County’s motion and pursue her claim in front of a jury.

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Filed Under: Discrimination, Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination
March 28, 2017 by

District Court in Pennsylvania Says Police Officer May Go Forward With Suit Against Department After He Was Terminated for DUI

By Erica Shelley Nelson and Sarah Burke

In Hoffman v. City of Bethlehem (Case), Hoffman v. City of Bethlehem (Court’s Order)  a federal district court in Pennsylvania denied a police department’s motion to dismiss a police officer’s disability discrimination claim. The district court ruled that the department’s reliance on a fitness for duty test before denying the officer reinstatement was enough to demonstrate they regarded him as disabled and provide him protection under the Rehabilitation Act.

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Filed Under: Disability Discrimination
March 20, 2017 by

District Court in Georgia Dismisses Fire Medic’s Claim of Discrimination Related to Comments at Work, an Involuntary Transfer, and Alleged Constructive Discharge

By: Loyd Willaford and Sarah Burke

In Cheatham v. DeKalb County, a federal district court granted summary judgment on a female fire medic’s claims that she had been discriminated against because men in her unit did not use the toilet properly and the station captain made a comment that “the only reason why a woman is in the fire service is to cook and do clerical work.” The court ruled that the fire medic had not suffered a materially adverse employment action because she was transferred and her transfer was a lateral one and she could not meet the high burden of establishing she was constructively discharged when she quit and got a better paying job.

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Filed Under: Discrimination, Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination
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