Racial Discrimination Archives - Labor Relations Information System

Suspensions, Not Demotion, Appropriate Punishment For Harassing Conduct

April 30, 2021

| Categories: Discipline, Harassment, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination, Sexual Harassment

Jimmie Turner was a lieutenant with the New Orleans Police Department. In an October 17, 2018 disciplinary letter, the Department suspended and then demoted Turner to a police sergeant classification after finding that he violated Policy 328 entitled “Workplace Discriminatory Harassment/Retaliation.” The discipline arose from a complaint lodged by Sergeant Peter Hansche. At the time of the complaint, Turner was Hansche’s immediate supervisor in the Homicide Unit. Hansche, a…

Firefighter Loses Discrimination Verdict On Appeal

March 3, 2021

| Categories: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

In 1987, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department hired Faye Davis, an African American female, as a firefighter. Beginning in 2007, Davis took the promotional exam to become a Chief Fire Officer (CFO) four years in a row but was not promoted. Davis sued, claiming she was the victim of race and gender discrimination. The parties’ primary disagreement was the number of actual vacancies during the 2009-2010 promotional cycle. The…

Last Chance Agreement Can Waive Title VII Discrimination Claims

March 3, 2021

| Categories: Discrimination, Last Chance Agreement, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination, Termination, Title VII

Michael Snowden is an African American male who formerly worked as a sergeant for the United States Park Police (USPP) supervising other law enforcement officers in the Communications Section. While working a shift in August 2004, Snowden received a call from his relative, Brian Lamont. On the call, Lamont asked Snowden for the registration information associated with a specific license plate – information that Snowden had the ability to…

The Need For Very Close ‘Comparators’ In Discrimination Cases

December 10, 2020

| Categories: Discrimination, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Nicole Wells was a corrections officer at the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Michigan. While still on probation she was terminated for following improper security procedures while assigned to a gate and for repeated personal use of the Employer’s computers. Wells filed a discrimination lawsuit under both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and its Michigan counterpart. Wells’ primary argument was that she was treated more harshly than non-African…

Reprimand Not Sufficiently ‘Adverse’ To Support Discrimination Suit

December 10, 2020

| Categories: Adverse Employment Action, Discrimination, Gender Discrimination, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Detroit Police Officer Adeela Green, who is African American, was supervised by Lieutenant James Cashion, who is white. On April 16, 2016, Green and her partner were dispatched to address debris falling from an abandoned building that was creating a traffic hazard. Cashion arrived at the scene and deployed barricades to block a parking lane on Michigan Avenue. According to his activity log, Cashion counseled Green and her partner…

Non-Shaving Deputy Wins Punitive Damages, Attorney Fees

September 29, 2020

| Categories: Discrimination, Gender Discrimination, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination, Sexual Discrimination, Sexual Harassment

Lavanden Darks is one of four black deputies with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in Missouri. Jackson County employs approximately 100 sworn officers. In 2014, Jackson County required all sworn officers appearing in uniform to be clean shaven with the exception of moustaches. Darks experienced pain with shaving and was medically diagnosed with an inflammatory skin condition known as psuedofolliculitis barbae. After attempting several treatments and other shaving methods,…

Double Jeopardy Results In Reversal Of Suspension For Racial Slur

September 29, 2020

| Categories: Double Jeopardy, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

An unnamed Cincinnati, Ohio police officer (employees are often not named in reported disciplinary arbitration decisions) responded to a call at an apartment complex on September 26, 2018. Identified only as Officer , he met the individuals outside the apartment complex and determined that the residents were intoxicated. The officer recognized two of them from working in the community. After directing two male individuals to leave, the men got…

No Retaliation If Decision-Maker Unaware Of Protected Activity

September 29, 2020

| Categories: Discrimination, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination, Retaliation

Aubrey Lyons is an African-American corrections officer with the Michigan Department of Corrections. After being transferred in 2012 to the Macomb Correctional Facility, Lyons allegedly began to experience various incidents of discrimination by his white supervisors. Lyons filed his first internal discrimination complaint against the Department in January 2015 in response to being disciplined for violating its computer use policies. Lyons claimed the white investigating lieutenant, James Webster, singled…

Court Upholds Officer’s $500k Judgment Against Sergeant

September 29, 2020

| Categories: Discrimination, Internal Affairs Issues, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Officer Detlef Sommerfield works for the Chicago Police Department. Sommerfield was born and raised in Germany, where some of his family members had died in concentration camps during the Holocaust. At some point he emigrated to the United States, settled in Chicago, and joined the CPD. His supervisor was Sergeant Lawrence Knasiak. As the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals described it, “for years, Sommerfield endured vicious anti-Semitic abuse…

Racist Comments From Hearing Board Member Violate Due Process

July 28, 2020

| Categories: Due Process, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Jonathan Stevens was a police officer with the Town of West Terre Haute in Indiana. On October 31, 2017, Stevens was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and felony domestic battery committed in the presence of a child less than 16 years old. Prior to these charged crimes, Stevens had never been reprimanded or disciplined for any violation, and he had been promoted to a supervisory role in the…

No ‘Error Too Obvious To Be Unintentional’ On The Money Train

April 2, 2020

| Categories: Demotion, Discrimination, Gender Discrimination, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Tiffany Washington, an African American woman, served as a sergeant in the Metro Transit Police Department from 2008 to 2016. The Department is a unit of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which operates trains and buses in and around the District of Columbia. Washington worked at WMATA’s Revenue Collection Facility in Alexandria, Virginia, where she supervised lower-ranking officers aboard the money train, which transports cash fares from…

Who Is ‘Similarly Situated’ For Disciplinary Purposes?

January 27, 2020

| Categories: Discipline, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Morris Johnson was a trooper with the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Johnson pulled over a woman for a DUI, arrested her, and asked her out. A month later, he saw the same woman on the road and pulled her over without probable cause so he could talk to her. He asked her out again, told her he liked her, and asked her to go to the casino with…

Lying, Not Complaint About Profiling, Was Basis For Investigation Into Officer

January 27, 2020

| Categories: Bias, Civil Lawsuits, Dishonesty, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Lamark Ferguson, who is African-American, is an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. Around midnight on the evening of August 18, 2014, while Ferguson was off-duty and returning home from a family function, he drove to a rental property in South Los Angeles that he owned and was renovating. Ferguson was driving his black 1999 Chevy Tahoe with tinted windows, 22-inch chrome rims, and low-profile tires. He was…

Sergeant’s $1.9 Million Verdict Reduced To $2,700

September 20, 2019

| Categories: First Amendment, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Pennsylvania State Police Sergeant David Holt II filed suit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and four of his supervisors. Holt alleged multiple instances of race discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, and contrary to the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause and the First Amendment. A jury returned a partial verdict, thereby necessitating a second trial. Holt prevailed on several of…

LAPD Officers Lose $4 Million Discrimination Judgment On Appeal

January 26, 2018

| Categories: Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

George Diego and Allan Corrales are Hispanic police officers working for the Los Angeles Police Department. Diego and Corrales were involved in a fatal shooting in March 2010. In that incident, they fired at a person they believed was threatening them with a gun, but who turned out to be a young, unarmed African-American man who was later described by his family as autistic. The shot fired by Corrales…

Evidence, Not Speculation, Needed For Race Discrimination Claim

December 26, 2017

| Categories: Discrimination, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Timothy Rivers, an African-American, was hired by the Macon, Georgia Police Department in February 2010. Rivers was certified as an Explosive Ordnance Device K-9 handler, and had been assigned to partner with EOD K-9 Arco in August 2013. On January 1, 2014, the City of Macon and Bibb County were consolidated to form a unified governing body known as Macon-Bibb County. As a result of the consolidation, the Macon…

Boston Police ‘Hair Test’ Back For Another Round

March 29, 2017

| Categories: Drug Testing, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

The continuing litigation saga involving eight Boston police officers terminated for failing the Police Department’s “hair test” for drugs appears to have yet more life left in it. When their hair tested positive for controlled substances, the officers sued, claiming that the hair drug test was racially discriminatory. After the officers lost an initial round in a federal trial court, the claim was heard by the First Circuit Court…

Sergeant Wins $620K Race Discrimination Claim

March 31, 2016

| Categories: Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Sergeant David Bonenberger, who is white, was a long-time employee of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. In September 2010, the Department posted a job opening for Assistant Academy Director of the city’s police academy. Upon learning of the opening, Bonenberger contacted a lieutenant “to get a feel for” whether he might be eligible for the position, despite not meeting the minimum qualifications of three years of supervisory experience…

Boston PD Rank-Ordered Promotions Held Discriminatory

March 31, 2016

| Categories: Promotional Exams, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Ten black police sergeants sued the City of Boston under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging that the multiple-choice examinations the Department administered in 2005 and 2008 to select which sergeants to promote to the rank of lieutenant had a racially disparate impact on minority candidates and were insufficiently job-related to pass muster under Title VII. A trial court recently found the City’s practices to…

‘Classic Stray Remark’ Cannot Support Discrimination Claim

December 15, 2015

| Categories: Discrimination, Harassment, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

There is a definite disconnect between the perception of sexual harassment law and what the current state of the law actually is. Many believe that overtly racist or sexist workplace comments easily support Title VII harassment claims. Owing to a number of Supreme Court decisions narrowing the law considerably, that belief is rarely accurate. A recent case out of Ithaca, New York illustrates this principle. Mark Hassan, of Middle…

PCP Not The Same As Alcohol For Purposes Of Race Discrimination Claim

January 2, 2015

| Categories: Drug Testing, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

Following his arrest for Driving Under the Influence, Antjuan Proctor entered a “back-to-work agreement” in lieu of termination from the Fairfax County, Virginia Fire and Rescue Department. Under the Agreement, Proctor was required to abstain from all mood-altering substances and submit to random, unannounced drug and alcohol testing. Less than two months after he entered the Agreement, Proctor tested positive for the illegal drug phencyclidine (PCP). Proctor challenged his…

Afghani Police Officer Applicant Loses Lawsuit

August 5, 2011

| Categories: Hiring Practices, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

After the City of Minneapolis did not hire Hamid Amini for a position with the Minneapolis Police Department, Amini, who was born in Afghanistan, filed suit, alleging that the City discriminated against him based on his race, color, and national origin. Amini argued that he satisfied the City’s criteria to be placed on the eligible list and was ranked second among the 12 candidates certified to the hiring decision-maker….

Corrections Officer Loses Reverse Discrimination Claim

July 26, 2011

| Categories: Discrimination, Promotions, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

James Finley works as a corrections officer for Camden County, New Jersey. Finley brought a reverse discrimination against the County, arguing that in several rounds of promotions, the County declined to promote him because he was Caucasian. Finley argued that the County systematically promoted less-qualified non-Caucasian candidates. A federal trial court examined the evidence and dismissed Finley’s claim. Starting with promotions that occurred in March 2006 and March 2007,…

Calling Officer A ‘Pain’ Not Gender Or Race Discrimination

July 25, 2011

| Categories: Gender Discrimination, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination, Retaliation

Sharon Davis, an African-American, was employed as a police officer with the Newark, New Jersey Police Department. Davis filed a seven-count lawsuit against the City, alleging that she was retaliated against for raising issues of racial and gender discrimination. The federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected all of Davis’s claims. The Court held that, “even accepting Davis’s allegations, she has failed to claim that she was retaliated against…

Court Allows Hostile Work Environment Claim To Proceed

March 1, 2011

| Categories: Discipline, Harassment, Public Safety Labor News, Racial Discrimination

In the wake of a series of Supreme Court decisions tightening up the standard as to what amounts to racial or sexual harassment, it has been more and more difficult for public safety officers to successfully bring harassment claims. And so it was a bit of a surprise to see one of the more conservative courts in the country, the federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, reverse the dismissal…

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