msgmarine
06-23-2007, 06:26 PM
Major sues state police, claims she was denied promotions
katc (http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=6700686)
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The highest-ranking woman officer in the Louisiana State Police is suing the agency, claiming she was wrongly denied promotions.
Maj. Genevieve May, a commander in the gaming enforcement division, applied repeatedly for lieutenant colonel positions, "and all went to men with far less experience," her attorney, Jill Craft, said. May has 29 years on the job with the state police.
A state police spokesman declined comment until the agency could review the claims. The agency had not been served with the lawsuit as of late Friday.
The lawsuit, filed this week in state court, says May met with outgoing Superintendent Henry Whitehorn last year to discuss the "systematic exclusion" of women in the agency. When her concerns were not addressed, May took them to the agency's human resources division and general counsel as well as to her supervisors, the lawsuit claims. But Craft said there seemed to be no real follow-up.
Craft also represented Jennifer Mistretta, a former state police spokeswoman, in a 1995 sexual harassment lawsuit against the agency. A jury awarded Mistretta $600,000 in her case.
The jury in Mistretta's lawsuit drew an angry response from then-Capt. Genevieve May, who said the department "is not the picture that was presented in the courtroom."
Craft said May is on active military duty in Germany and could not be reached for comment.
Whitehorn, who has led the agency for three years, has accepted the job of Shreveport police chief.
katc (http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=6700686)
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The highest-ranking woman officer in the Louisiana State Police is suing the agency, claiming she was wrongly denied promotions.
Maj. Genevieve May, a commander in the gaming enforcement division, applied repeatedly for lieutenant colonel positions, "and all went to men with far less experience," her attorney, Jill Craft, said. May has 29 years on the job with the state police.
A state police spokesman declined comment until the agency could review the claims. The agency had not been served with the lawsuit as of late Friday.
The lawsuit, filed this week in state court, says May met with outgoing Superintendent Henry Whitehorn last year to discuss the "systematic exclusion" of women in the agency. When her concerns were not addressed, May took them to the agency's human resources division and general counsel as well as to her supervisors, the lawsuit claims. But Craft said there seemed to be no real follow-up.
Craft also represented Jennifer Mistretta, a former state police spokeswoman, in a 1995 sexual harassment lawsuit against the agency. A jury awarded Mistretta $600,000 in her case.
The jury in Mistretta's lawsuit drew an angry response from then-Capt. Genevieve May, who said the department "is not the picture that was presented in the courtroom."
Craft said May is on active military duty in Germany and could not be reached for comment.
Whitehorn, who has led the agency for three years, has accepted the job of Shreveport police chief.