STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - A Bridge and Tunnel officer who was stripped of her gun and assigned to a Verrazano-Narrows toll booth because she was pregnant has won a $100,000 payout as part of a settlement announced by federal prosecutors.
Lori Ann DiPalo, 43, a former Dongan Hills resident, was working as a Bridge and Tunnel operations force officer when a Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority doctor deemed her "unfit for duty" in 2008 because she was 10 weeks pregnant.
The TBTA then gave DiPalo a choice - either work in a toll booth or go out on disability.
The doctor didn't actually physically examine DiPalo, and dismissed a written opinion from her own doctor that she was fit for duty, according to a federal civil compliant.
"He indicated that he made his decision to protect BTOFO DiPalo and her fetus from 'abdominal trauma.' He also informed BTOFO DiPalo that pregnancy made her unable to properly safeguard a firearm," the complaint reads.
DiPalo submitted a Charge of Discrimination to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging the TBTA has an illegal policy of automatically removing officers from full duty when they become pregnant.
The U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn stepped in, and on Tuesday announced both the complaint and the settlement agreement.
"There's no reason for her to take a leave or to essentially take a demotion working in the toll booth," said Penny Venetis, the executive vice president and legal director for Legal Momentum, an advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls.
Venetis said her organization has represented DiPalo since the beginning of her case, and contended that pregnant law enforcement officers should be allowed to stay on the job until they see fit to take maternity leave.
"If her doctor says that she can carry out her regular duties, I don't see what the issues," she said, calling the TBTA's previous practices "primitive."
"It's outrageous. It's 2015. It's not 1935. It really shouldn't be happening, Venetis said. "As long as they are able to do their job effectively, they should not be forced out because they are having a baby."
Ms. DiPalo is back on patrol, Venetis said.
She'll receive $100,000 - half of which is considered back pay, the other half compensation for legal distress - as well as $44,625 in lawyer fees, according to the settlement agreement.
Twelve additional individuals who are not named in the legal settlement will receive a total of $106,500.
The complaint also names a second officer, Christine Lampropolis, a TBTA lieutenant stripped of her gun and required of go on disability in 2008. Her name is not listed in the settlement, though, and it's not clear if she's included in the group receiving $106,500. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office could not elaborate on Lampropolis Tuesday.
Under the agreement, the TBTA is required to create a new policy that "will treat individuals who are pregnant or suffer from pregnancy-related conditions in the same manner as other individuals similar in their ability or inability to work, including provision of reasonable accommodation."
TBTA management won't be allowed to send an officer to an agency doctor simply because she's pregnant, the agreement reads, and TBTA employees will have to undergo pregnancy discrimination training.
"Title VII (of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) prohibits discrimination against pregnant employees," said U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers in a prepared statement. "This Settlement Agreement ensures that pregnant Bridge and Tunnel Operating Force Officers able to perform their duties will not be forced to accept lesser roles simply because they are pregnant."
In a statement this afternoon, MTA spokeswoman Amanda Kwan said:
"MTA Bridges and Tunnels is pleased to have reached a settlement on matters dating back to 2008. Since that time, Bridges and Tunnels has directed all occupational medicine consultants responsible for evaluating duty fitness to perform an individual assessment of each officer's medical condition and ability to perform the essential duties of their positions.
"With this settlement, Bridges and Tunnels will reinforce its policies to make sure they are clear, and all employees and managers have been advised of their continuing obligations under federal, state, and local laws."