There is a misplaced belief that in Michigan and across the United States that various forms of discrimination are in the past, and all people will be treated equally based on the work they do. Unfortunately, it is not the case. People are still confronted with numerous forms of workplace discrimination. This can be race discrimination, discrimination based on gender, age, sexual orientation and much more. Those who are subjected to this treatment might not even be aware that they may in certain circumstances be able to seek compensation through a legal filing. Knowing what is legal and illegal and how to move forward with a case is key to achieving justice.
A former law enforcement officer has filed a federal case alleging that the department she worked for retaliated against her and she was discriminated against due to the fact that she was an African-American female. According to her case, she was subjected to violations of her constitutional and civil rights during her time working for the police force from January to December of 2015. She says she was told that she either had to resign or she would be fired and blacklisted. She claims that she was confronted with a variety of comments about her race, was punished more severely than other workers and was given tasks that were of greater difficulty than those given her white coworkers.
Since she resigned, she says she has not been able to find another job because of what happened at this job. Representatives of the city say that they are not aware of the legal filing and could not comment. The woman states that the department committed such transgressions as intentionally pursuing African-American drivers for traffic stops, ignoring drunk drivers, requesting that citations she gave to friends of people in the department be voided, not giving her the proper training and not doing their jobs when they were working. According to her, derogatory comments about African-Americans were made by those in the department.
This case bears the hallmarks of certain hot button issues that are part of the daily news cycle. The woman’s allegations are quite serious, given that she is having trouble finding other employment and is alleging various violations of the law. A person who is dealing with similar issues no matter what job they have should make sure to follow her lead and learn more about the possibility of pursuing a lawsuit with help from an attorney.
Source: mlive.com, “Former Ypsilanti officer claims racial discrimination in federal lawsuit,” Darcie Moran, Sept. 27, 2016
