A federal judge has scheduled an April trial date for a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by a female Phenix City police sergeant. Sgt. Christina J. Presley filed suit against Phenix City alleging she lost a promotion and was improperly suspended in 2009 for disobeying orders related to her refusal to jail a suspect of second-degree assault. The plaintiff claimed she was treated differently from male emplloyees with respect to this discipline and asserted that she could not in good conscience charge the man because the investigation revealed he acted in self-defense.
Our firm will monitor this case as it develops. We are often contacted about gender discrimination by females who work in professions that used to be dominated by male employees. Although many Alabama businesses have made a sincere effort to make the workplace fair and equitable for members of both genders, there remain far too many work environments where women do not receive the same opportunities or pay and are subjected to severe sexual harassment. Employees who are willing to bring these claims forward and fight back against improper and illegal practices can often times make a much broader impact on changing the workplace for women throughout the entire State of Alabama.