State Courts

Wichita police officer to go to trial with sex discrimination suit

By Ron Sylvester

A Wichita police officer’s claims that she was sexually discriminated against should go to trial, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled today.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling by U.S. District Judge Monti Belot to dismiss the lawsuit by other women working for the WPD but reinstated the case of Greta Semsroth.

But the three-judge panel said a jury should decided whether the department treated Semsroth unfairly on two of her claims:

• That she was subjected to a hostile work environment by other supervisors and officers repeatedly referring to her by a derogatory term usually reserved for women.
• And that after she complained her supervisors retaliated against her by reassigning her to a job on what other officers called “the banishment beat,” in east Wichita, where there are few serious crimes and limited opportunity for advancement.

In the ruling, the judges said:

“The evidence indicates a work environment that was permeated with gender-based intimidation and insult. … The allegations suggest that sexual discrimination remains a concern within the Department.”

Full post as published by What the Judge Ate for Breakfast on December 22, 2008 (boomark / email).