A staff assistant at the Peachtree City Police Department has filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging she was discriminated against based on her gender and disabilities.
In the complaint, Lisa Ficalore claims that Police Chief H.C. “Skip” Clark demoted her along with handing her a pay cut in October 2008 when her position was “reclassified” from administrative assistant to staff assistant.
Previously, Ficalore had been the number one assistant to then-Chief James Murray. Chief Murray resigned under pressure in late 2007. Clark succeeded Murray in April of 2008.
Ficalore also claims that Clark in late 2010 lowered her employee evaluation scores that were initially compiled by her direct supervisor, Claudia Stapleton.
“Claudia scored me in the high 4s and the Chief lowered it to a low 3,” the complaint states. “Ms. Stapleton was clear with me that she did not agree with the Chief and that I was doing a wonderful job and that she would have given me higher scores.”
City Attorney Ted Meeker declined to comment on the complaint’s allegations, but said the city is actively reviewing the matter. Other city officials, including Clark, also declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Ficalore’s complaint notes that she suffers from chronic endometriosis and chronic allergies and has had to take medical leaves to treat those problems, with five surgeries in the past nine years.
In the complaint, Ficalore says Chief Clark was documenting her sick time and had sent her supervisors to the city’s human resources department to inquire “what they could ‘do to me’ because of my use of sick time.”
In August 2010, the complaint alleges that Chief Clark required Ficalore to give him notes concerning her condition and prognosis.
The complaint also references that in January of this year shortly prior to a scheduled surgery, Ficalore was told to train a police sergeant who was on light duty to replace her temporarily. Later that same day, Ficalore said she was told that she would be temporarily assigned to City Hall, where she is continuing to work.
Citing comments made by Clark, Ficalore’s complaint also claims that she has been made to work in a “hostile work environment.”
“The Chief has told others that I am ‘useless’ and that he wants to get rid of me,” Ficalore wrote in the complaint.
Ficalore noted that she once was written up by the chief “for being two minutes late to work.”
The complaint also claims that since Clark was hired, Ficalore has “experienced negative gender stereotypes from some of my coworkers and from the new chief in particular.”
Ficalore also contends that in April 2010 she was denied training that others received.
