Noteboom The Law Firm

Bay Pines, FL Police Officers Sue VA

July 16, 2010 - A lawsuit filed in Tampa, Fl federal court last week accused the Bay Pines Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center of retaliating against employees alleging workplace discrimination. This follows the Bay Pines leaders being banned from retaliation against its 3,000 employees by a U.S. Magistrate Judge last November who admonished Bay Pines for what he called "discriminatory conduct." Bay Pines is the fifth-busiest VA hospital in the nation and served 95,000 veterans last year.

According to the lawsuit, current and former police officers either filed Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints against the Bay Pines VA or were witnesses in these type of cases. Because of this, the suit alleges the officers were:

• Disciplined;
• Denied training;
• Excluded from preferred assignments; or
• Passed over for promotion.

The workplace complaints varied greatly and ranged from name calling, to sexual comments, to veterans abusing sick time to treat service-related injuries. Federal law prevents retaliation against employees who have made EEO complaints. Some of the complained about incidents came after the judge's ordered ban against retaliation last November.

This is not a first for Bay Pines. In July of 2009 a federal jury awarded a $3.73 million verdict to a group of employees after finding the VA retaliated against them. This lawsuit alleges the same and states because of the atmosphere of retaliation, many employees refuse to talk about the information they have regarding the retaliation.