Municipio de Vega Alta, Puerto Rico

Washington, DC: (Sep-10-07) The Department of Justice brought charges against Municipio de Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, alleging that the municipality engaged in unlawful employment discrimination based on gender and retaliated against an officer who cooperated in the related federal investigation. The complaint, filed on March 21, 2006, in US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, alleged that the municipality violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against three female police officers, Laura Molina Rodriguez, Iris Bidot Figueroa, and Madeleine Garcia Gonzalez, and by retaliating against Rafael Miranda Vazquez, a male officer, for participating in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's investigation. On July 19, 2006, the four officers filed an intervenors' complaint pursuant to Title VII and Puerto Rico anti-discrimination statutes.

In a settlement reached, a consent decree, approved US District Court Judge Juan M. Perez Gimenez of the District of Puerto Rico, resolves the allegations of the lawsuit. Under the terms of the agreement, the municipality will offer monetary awards totaling $225,000, including attorney's fees, to the four officers. Further, the municipality will also provide training on equal employment opportunity law, including discrimination based on gender and retaliation, to all supervisors in its police department. [EXAMINER: OFFICER DISCRIMINATION]

Legal Help

If you have a similar problem and would like to be contacted by a lawyer at no cost or obligation, please click the link below.
Published on Sep-15-07