State to Pay $972G To 23 Pregnant COs Denied 'Comp' Rights

The state Department of Correctional Services has agreed to pay $972,000 in damages to 23 female correction officers employed at Ossining Correction Facility to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit May 20, according to a joint statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

MICHAEL J. GARCIA: Equal treatment for pregnant COs.

"Discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace is a violation of their civil rights," Michael J. Garcia, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in the statement. "We are pleased that DOCS has agreed to implement comprehensive measures to ensure that its employees who give birth are treated equally."

Entitled to Workers' Comp

DOCS is responsible for operating the state's prisons, including Ossining - commonly known as Sing Sing - Correctional Facility, where the 23 officers are currently or were formerly employed. The complaint alleged that the DOCS had a policy of discriminating against women who became pregnant by transferring them from Workers' Compensation leave status - for which they otherwise would have been eligible - to maternity leave, which offered significantly lesser benefits. Under Workers' Compensation, they were allowed up to six months of paid leave; maternity leave status offered only unpaid time off.

The settlement money constitutes back-pay, interest and additional damages. DOCS also agreed to implement anti-discrimination training and training on how Workers' Compensation benefits should be properly administered and will change its policy so that officers can't be denied Workers' Compensation when they become pregnant. Last summer, DOCS began issuing information packets to pregnant COs explaining the benefits for which they were eligible.

"We whole-heartedly agree with the judge's decision," said New York State Correctional and Police Benevolent Association President Larry Flanagan Jr. "The union fully supports all our members and discrimination is unacceptable."