City's HR actions under fire as court spotlights retaliation risks for employers
A Michigan dispatcher’s retaliation lawsuit against her city employer will proceed after a federal appeals court denied immunity to the police commissioner.
Linda DeVooght, a longtime dispatcher for the City of Warren Police Department, claims she was unfairly targeted and fired after challenging the department’s search policy. According to her complaint, female dispatchers were required to conduct pat-down and strip searches of female arrestees, even when female officers were available, exposing them to health risks and aggressive behavior. The complaint says male dispatchers were not subject to similar requirements.
In 2020, DeVooght and five other female dispatchers filed a lawsuit alleging sex discrimination. Eleven days later, DeVooght became the subject of an Internal Affairs investigation, after a male dispatcher reported overhearing her ask another dispatcher if she planned to join the lawsuit. The department escalated the matter to a formal investigation, interviewing 23 dispatch employees over more than two months.
The investigation did not find that DeVooght retaliated against coworkers for refusing to join the lawsuit. However, it did reveal that she had accessed the department’s case-management system, CLEMIS, for personal reasons, which violated department policy. As a result, DeVooght was placed on paid administrative leave and then terminated.
DeVooght appealed her termination...
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