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| Female officers file harassment suit in Iowa |
| By Eldridge North Scott Press |
| Published: 02/23/2004 |
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Two federal civil lawsuits, alleging on-the-job sexual harassment and sexual discrimination, have been filed against Scott County and the Scott County Sheriff's Department by three female corrections officers with the department and one former female officer. Kimberly Parthemore, Marie Spinello and Joan Wristen, who were assigned to the Scott County Jail, filed a joint suit Feb. 5 in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Iowa. A separate suit was filed the same day by Kelly Smith. In each of the suits, the four charge sexual discrimination, sexual discrimination under the Iowa Human Rights Act and sexual harassment for a hostile sexual work environment, for incidents taking place from March to September 2001 at the jail. Spinello, in the fourth count of the suit with Parthemore and Wristen, seeks damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act. She was terminated from her job in September 2001. In her separate suit, Smith also charged that her supervisor, who was a sergeant at the jail, sexually harassed her in various ways. The sergeant is no longer employed by the jail and was not named as a defendant in the suit. All four plaintiffs timely filed complaints of discrimination with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission in January 2002, attorney Andrew Rink, of Katz, Huntoon & Fieweger of Rock Island, stated in the suit. The four plaintiffs received their right to notification of the right to sue from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last month. Both lawsuits demand a trial by jury and request damages for mental and emotional distress, attorneys' and expert witness fees, and other appropriate damages. Spinello also seeks to recover lost pay and benefits and either reinstatement or other appropriate award. |
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