Alan Scher Zagier//October 29, 2024//
In a case handled by a pair of Missouri plaintiffs’ firms, a federal jury in the District of Kansas awarded nearly half a million dollars to two female Topeka police administrators who alleged sex discrimination after they were passed over for a high-level promotion in favor of a less-experienced male candidate.
The federal jury unanimously awarded both Colleen Stuart and Jana Harden $200,000 in compensatory damages for emotional pain and suffering, humiliation, embarrassment and mental anguish; along with more than $35,000 in back pay and benefits to Stuart and $11,059 in back pay and benefits to Harden. Stuart received an additional $42,593 in front pay and benefits based on what she would have earned had she received the promotion.
The jury reached its verdict after deliberating approximately three hours at the conclusion of a four-day trial, said plaintiffs’ attorney Eric Playter of Playter and Player. The Kansas City firm teamed with Employee Rights Law Firm of Liberty on the case.
According to the complaint, both Stuart and Harden held ranks as captains but were passed over for promotions to positions as deputy chief and major in November and December 2021 by new Chief Bryan Wheeles soon after he joined the department.
The complaint notes that the selected male candidate for deputy chief lacked an advanced college degree and was offered the job without any interviews of the five internal applicants.
“Defendants allegedly promoted (the male candidate) because he was believed to be in lockstep with the chief’s thinking and ideas for the department’s future,” the suit reads. “In reality, however, defendants chose (him) because he is male.”
After she was again passed over for advancement two weeks later, Stuart said she was told by the new chief and his newly appointed deputy that she lacked the political skills needed for the job.
The chief instead chose a male candidate whose selection was reportedly questioned by “senior commanders (who) voiced their concerns about trusting him” to the new deputy chief, the suit claims, further outlining previous episodes in which Stuart — who joined the department as a police officer in 1999 — was called a “bitch” and told to smile more often.
The complaint also outlines several previous instances of discrimination against Harden, including being asked to alter such “unladylike conduct” such as not sitting with legs crossed.
Attorneys for the city of Topeka did not respond to a request for comment.
Playter added that the most compelling testimony came from two witnesses.
The first was the male candidate’s wife — also a police officer — who testified that while her family benefitted from the discrimination, her husband was not the most qualified candidate,” he said.
The second: a former chief of police, chief of staff and interim city manager who testified that “he believed both Harden and Stuart could potentially be chief of police one day,” Playter said.
Playter noted that the back pay consisted of the salary differences in the two plaintiff’s current positions versus what they would have earned in the major position. Attorney fees and expenses will be added to the settlement judgment at a later date, he said.
Stuart additionally claimed front pay through the date of her retirement, which is likely to occur in 2025. Harden was promoted to a different major position in February 2023 and made to claim for front pay.
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- $488,930.45 jury verdict for plaintiffs
- Employment (sex discrimination)
- Breakdown and distribution of actual value: $400,000 in non-economic damages, split equally by both plaintiffs; $35,277.58 in back pay and benefits to Stuart; $42,593.67 in front pay and benefits’ $11,059.20 back pay for Harden (no front pay requested).
- Venue: U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
- Case Number/Date: 2:23-cv-02021-TC /Sept. 23, 2024
- Judge: District Judge Toby Krause
- Caption: Colleen Stuart, Jana Kizzar (f/k/a Harden) v. City of Topeka, Kansas
- Plaintiff’s attorneys: Mark Jess (lead) and Christie Jess, Employee Rights Law Firm, Liberty
- Eric Playter and Chris Playter, Kansas City
- Defendant’s attorneys: J. Phillip Gragson (lead) and Kara Eisenhut; Henson Hutton Mudrick Gragson & Vogelsberg, Topeka, Kansas
This article credit to MOLawyersMedia