Ex-Dispatcher Files Claim, Hostile Work Environment

The attorney for a former Wayne (Neb.) police dispatcher has filed a discrimination claim with the city asking for $167,501.39 for back pay, punitive damages and attorney fees in connection with her 2009 firing for a variety of charges that included insubordination, unauthorized use of city equipment, abuse of sick leave and use of offensive language. Katherine Lassila claims she was fired in retaliation for her complaints of discrimination for her medical condition, and reporting co-workers watching pornography. She also says co-workers frequently made inappropriate comments to her, and a supervisor suggested she needed a psychiatric examination. The claim says Lassila and her son were forced to move out of the city because police officers were surveilling her home, and that she’s been unable to obtain comparable employment since her firing. Accompanying Lassila’s claim is a collection of memos written in 2009 that reveal cursing between Lassila and co-workers, bickering over kitchen dishes, and parking ticket computer entries. A previous complaint filed by Lassila with the state’s Equal Opportunity Commission was dismissed for a lack of evidence. Read more about the current claim here, and download (pdf) the complaint here.