No proof of sheriff’s light-duty policy being discriminatory: judge

A federal judge has ruled a pregnant corrections officer failed to prove the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office’s light-duty assignment policy was inherently discriminatory to pregnant women.

In a decision handed down Thursday, U.S. District Judge Frederick Scullin found that while county Corrections Officer AnnMarie Legg was able to prove that the sheriff’s policy created a situation under which pregnant women will never be afforded light-duty assignments, she was un-

able to provide evidence that the policy “falls disproportionately on pregnant employees.”

“What is absolutely lacking in this case is any evidence indicating that pregnant women were unable to perform full-time duty at the jail,” Scullin wrote. “To the contrary, [Legg] and two other women worked full-duty until late in their pregnancies.”

But, the judge warned, the ruling does not necessarily mean the policy isn’t vulnerable to challenge under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, only that Legg’s arguments failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove her claim. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act states that if an employee is temporarily unable to perform her job due to pregnancy, the employer must treat her the same as any other temporarily disabled employee; for example, by providing light duty, modified tasks, alternative assignments, disability leave, or leave without pay.

“It was [Legg’s] burden to prove at trial that pregnant women could not work full duty and needed light-duty assignments but were denied them while others similar in their inability to work full-duty could receive light-duty assignments,” the judge wrote. “In other words, [Legg’s] disparate impact claim fails for lack of evidence.”

Legg sued Ulster County and Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum in 2008, claiming she was discriminated against when the sheriff denied her request for a light-duty assignment despite her having a doctor’s note.

Under VanBlarcum’s implementation of the office’s light-duty policy, it applied only to employees injured on the job, providing a mechanism for him to force employees who otherwise would remain out on workers compensation back to work.

VanBlarcum’s implementation of the policy did not apply to pregnant employees, who instead had to continue working full duty; use accrued sick, vacation or personal time; or take Family and Medical Leave Act time or disability leave.

The Sheriff’s Office oversees the Ulster County Jail.

Last August, a jury found Legg had not been intentionally discriminated against but left open the issue of whether the sheriff’s light-duty policy had “the effect of discriminating against pregnant women.”

In a press release, Matthew Kelly, the attorney who represented the county, said “the court’s denial of ... means her claims have been dismissed in full.”

Attorney Stephen Bergstein, who represented Legg, said that while the disparate impact claim was the last one to be litigated, he believes there may be issues worth pursing in an appeal, though he said he hadn’t discussed that option with Legg.

“I don’t see ...a legitimate distinction between men who are injured on the job and women who can’t work full duty because they’re pregnant,” Bergstein said, adding that because the issue

is fairly new, there isn’t a lot of case law surrounding it.

Legg was one of five women who sued Ulster County and county jail officials alleging on-the-job sexual harassment and discrimination. The other plaintiffs were Patricia Watson, Nancy Reyes and Patricia Meadors. Amy Negron brought a separate lawsuit.

The women’s lawsuit, filed in 2009, alleged the female corrections officers were sexually harassed, retaliated against when they filed complaints and passed over for promotions. The suit claimed the sexual harassment and discrimination came in a variety of forms.

A jury in August 2014 awarded Watson $400,000 in damages, but found the claims by Reyes and Legg did not rise to federal standards to recover damages. Meadors’ case was discontinued because she was promoted to corporal.

The county has filed motions seeking to vacate the Watson verdict.

A jury awarded Negron $440,000 in 2012, though a federal judge later threw out most of her claims. He did allow to stand a claim by Negron that actions within the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office after 2006 created a hostile work environment. As a result of that decision, the judge reduced the monetary award to Negron to $80,000.

“It was [Legg’s] burden to prove at trial that pregnant women could not work full duty and needed light-duty assignments but were denied them while others similar in their inability to work full-duty could receive light-duty assignments. In other words, [Legg’s] disparate impact claim fails for lack of evidence.” — Judge Frederick Scullin