Yesterday, the 11th Circuit addressed a complaint by a police officer who alleged she was discriminated against due to her pregnancy and use of FMLA leave. The gist of this case involves some animosity between the officer and her supervisor who seemed ticked off that she was given some latitude during her pregnancy. The Captain who had approved the latitude (not the direct supervisor) was discharged for embezzlement (you really can't make this stuff up) during the officer's FMLA leave and the new Captain was not as sensitive to the issue and responded to the supervisor's request to transfer and demote the officer from narcotics duty to patrol. Moving her to patrol required that she wear a ballistic vest which her doctor advised could adversely affect her breasts especially during the months she continued breastfeeding her infant. The Chief offered to allow her to patrol without a vest or with a special vest. She found those offers unsafe as she would not be protected while patrolling without the vest and the special vest had gaping areas for bullets to enter. So, she resigned and sued asserting constructive discharge. A jury agreed with her. Insofar as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act the 11th Circuit noted: "The line between discrimination and accommodation is a fine one. Taking adverse actions based on woman's breastfeeding is prohibited by the PDA but employers are not required to give special accommodations to breastfeeding mothers." In the context of this case the court concluded that the offered accommodations coupled with evidence of discriminatory motive really amounted to discrimination based on her interest in breastfeeding which the court found was covered by the PDA. It also found sufficient evidence to support the jury verdict regarding retaliation based on use of the FMLA leave. http://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201613003.pdf Charles W. Thompson, Jr. Executive Director and General Counsel International Municipal Lawyers Association, Inc. 51 Monroe Street Suite 404 Rockville, Maryland 20850 202-466-5424 x7110 Direct: 202-742-1016 Cell: 240-876-6790 Plan ahead: IMLA's Annual Conference October 14- October 18, 2017 - Niagara, Ontario, Canada (Passport required) To register, go to: http://imla.org/events/conferences#registration IMLA's Annual Seminar and Section 1983 Defense Conference - April 20- April 23, 2018 Washington, DC