NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana recently dismissed claims of racial and gender discrimination against St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne.
In a Dec. 11 filing, U.S. District Judge Barry W. Ashe granted a motion for summary judgment filed by attorneys for Champagne in a complaint filed by Samantha White, who claimed that Champagne discriminated against her with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission "on the basis of race and gender" in November 2017.
Court filings said Champagne, a white man and White's former employer, allegedly discriminated against White, who is a black woman, in January 2015, "when she was transferred to light duty in the corrections department due to her pregnancy." According to the suit, "another female deputy, who was white and also pregnant, was promoted to detective."
Ashe ruled in favor of Champagne because, under Louisiana law, White did not file her complaint in a timely manner. She was terminated in February 2016 but did not file her complaint until November 2016. Ashe's filing said, "There is no evidence that Champagne terminated White because of a perceived disability, but rather because she failed to comply with the reasonable request that she undergo an examination to determine whether she was fit for duty."
White, who gave birth in September 2015, claims that she experienced postpartum depression "and that she missed work on several occasions due to the symptoms of her depression."
Attorneys for Champagne argued White was not discriminated against, sayimng her termination was due to failing to undergo a mandatory fitness examination. According to the filing, "Champagne required White to undergo a fitness-for-duty examination after he was informed that she was experiencing mental-health issues. This inquiry was entirely reasonable, and responsible, to protect public safety considering that White was a deputy who normally carried a badge and gun in public. The record is clear that White did not undergo the examination and was terminated as a result."
White claimed she experienced postpartum depression after the birth of her child in September 2015 and that she missed work on several occasions due to the symptoms of her depression. White contends that she followed protocol each time she had to miss work due to her depression, but was written up several times, including for missing work on Dec. 19, 2015.
According to the suit, White was informed by a captain to sign a "write-up related to White’s Dec. 19, 2015, absence." White claimed that she was unable to comply and was suspended from her duties in January 2016, "without pay for 10 days: three days related to the Dec. 19, 2015, absence, and seven days related to her failure to report on Dec.r 22, 2015, to sign the write-up." She was terminated in February 2016.