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- Commission: ‘reasonable cause’ to think woman fired because of disability
Commission: ‘reasonable cause’ to think woman fired because of disability
- By Don Gronning
- Published 12/3/2008
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The Washington State Human Rights Commission has found there is reasonable cause to believe Janine Beghtol was illegally fired by the City of Selah because of a medical condition.
Beghtol was hospitalized for 10 weeks in 2007 after what was supposed to be a routine medical procedure went wrong. She took unpaid leave from her job as dispatcher for the Selah Police Department under the federal Family Medical Leave Act, according to the investigative finding by the commission on her case. When she tried to return to work, the job no longer existed.
The City of Selah says they have not seen the finding, but that they did not discriminate against Beghtol, said city Supervisor Frank Sweet.
“(The finding) is not correct,” said Sweet. He said Beghtol’s job was eliminated in a budget cutting move unrelated to her medical situation. The city no longer performed dispatching services, said Sweet.
Washington State Human Rights Commission executive director Marc Brenman said the next step is for the City and Beghtol to negotiate a settlement.
“Hopefully, once they have a chance to read the finding, they’ll want to settle,” said Brenman. If not, the matter could be referred to the state Attorney General for prosecution.
Brenman said the commission is most interested in changing policies that lead to the discrimination.
Both the city and the commission have made mistakes in handling the complaint. The city miscalculated the amount unpaid leave Beghtol was eligible for, discharging her nine days before her 12-week FMLA period expired.
The Commission, after initially claiming the findings had been sent to the city, discovered they had not sent put it in the mail.
Sweet says the city takes the case seriously. He said once the city sees the findings, they will respond.
Beghtol was hospitalized for 10 weeks in 2007 after what was supposed to be a routine medical procedure went wrong. She took unpaid leave from her job as dispatcher for the Selah Police Department under the federal Family Medical Leave Act, according to the investigative finding by the commission on her case. When she tried to return to work, the job no longer existed.
The City of Selah says they have not seen the finding, but that they did not discriminate against Beghtol, said city Supervisor Frank Sweet.
“(The finding) is not correct,” said Sweet. He said Beghtol’s job was eliminated in a budget cutting move unrelated to her medical situation. The city no longer performed dispatching services, said Sweet.
Washington State Human Rights Commission executive director Marc Brenman said the next step is for the City and Beghtol to negotiate a settlement.
“Hopefully, once they have a chance to read the finding, they’ll want to settle,” said Brenman. If not, the matter could be referred to the state Attorney General for prosecution.
Brenman said the commission is most interested in changing policies that lead to the discrimination.
Both the city and the commission have made mistakes in handling the complaint. The city miscalculated the amount unpaid leave Beghtol was eligible for, discharging her nine days before her 12-week FMLA period expired.
The Commission, after initially claiming the findings had been sent to the city, discovered they had not sent put it in the mail.
Sweet says the city takes the case seriously. He said once the city sees the findings, they will respond.