By Eric Freedman
A Louisiana State University police major who was passed over for promotion to chief can pursue her gender discrimination and retaliation claims, a federal appeals court says.
The unanimous decision found that Martha Haire offered sufficient evidence to warrant a jury trial.
Haire joined the department in 1988 and was promoted to major in 2005. In 2007, she applied to replace the retiring police chief. However, an interim chief held the position for two years while the chancellor searched for a permanent replacement.
During that time, the interim chief made sexist remarks, including emailing “dumb blonde” jokes to a police employee, the suit claims. Also during that time, Haire was allegedly excluded from decision-making and encountered repeated acts of hostility from a male major, Lawrence Rabalais, who eventually became permanent chief.
The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a lower-court judge’s dismissal of the case.
The court said that LSU did offer a legitimate non-discriminatory rationale for not promoting Haire, namely her handling of a criminal report involving the arrest of a dean on felony theft charges. Haire said she was obeying a supervisor’s lawful order to file the arrest report, although it led to embarrassing publicity for the dean and the university.
