Ohio Worker Files Discrimination Lawsuit

West Chester Township, OHA long-time West Chester Township city employee recently filed a lawsuit alleging that she was sexually discriminated against in the workplace. Ohio employment law protects Ohio employees against discrimination on any grounds such as gender, race, or age.


Denise Brown has been an employee of West Chester Township since 1976 and director of the Communications and Information Technology for the Township since 1998. According to a November 18 article in the Dayton Daily News, Bruce alleges that she was not allowed to participate in the Township's retire/rehire option that the male employees were allowed to take part in.

The Dayton Daily News reports that employees are given the option of retiring and be rehired at a lower salary. By doing so, they can collect benefits through the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System. At the same time, the employer is able to retain at a lower cost employees with a high level of experience and expertise.

Bruce's lawsuit, filed on August 31 of this year, argues that the Township denied Bruce's request for a retire/rehire option but approved similar requests made by male police lieutenants. Furthermore, in the years prior to Bruce's request, the Township approved three requests for retire/rehire made by male employees, including Bruce's husband.

"Despite her length and record of service for the Township reflected by, among other things, her consistently high performance evaluations, as well as the fact that the Township continues to need the skill services provided by Ms. Bruce, the Township refused to permit her the opportunity to participate in the retire/rehire option," the lawsuit alleges. "While denying Ms. Bruce the ability to participate in the retire/rehire program, the Township has routinely approved the requests of several similarly situated eligible employees who happen to be male."

The Township has not yet commented on the lawsuit.

Trucking Firm Settles Gender Discrimination Lawsuit for $2.43 Million

In January 2009, a federal district court in Ohio approved a $2.43 million settlement regarding allegations that a trucking firm discriminated against women when hiring drivers and loading dock workers. In addition to the financial portion of the settlement, the trucking firm will give preferential hiring to qualified class members who were still interested in jobs with the firm.