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Ex-911 dispatcher loses suit against county

From Pennlive

LOCK HAVEN- A former Clinton County dispatcher who claimed she felt coerced to perform a sex act on the emergency services director to keep her job has lost her sex discrimination suit against the county.

U.S. Middle District Judge Christopher C. Conner Wednesday granted summary judgment to the county in the suit brought by Christine Woods of Lock Haven.

Woods contended three times she was bypassed for promotions while being the most qualified.

She alleged a factor was that she had performed oral sex on Kevin Fanning, an act he agrees took place but claims was consensual.

In granting summary judgment, Conner found Woods failed to timely pursue her discrimination claim stemming from not being promoted to shift supervisor in March 2015.

The judge found the county had legitimate reasons for not promoting Woods to quality assurance supervisor in December 2015 and to shift supervisor in March 2016. He noted a female was named quality assurance supervisor.

The county acknowledged Woods was qualified but cited a lack of verbal and interpersonal skills, complaints about her dispatch communications and her hostile reaction when not promoted in December 2015.

Woods had been a part-time dispatcher for four years until becoming full time in September 2008.

A month later, according to Conner’s opinion, she and Fanning began communicating in a personal and risque manner via text messages, email, phone calls and “chats” over the department’s internal messaging system.

Woods claimed she interpreted a comment Fanning made in November or December 2008 while she was still on probation as a full-time dispatcher that to keep her job she had to do what he wanted.

The sex act occurred within about a week of that comment, the court document states. Their relationship ended a short time later.

Woods also claimed her May 2016 resignation constituted constructive discharge, but Conner disagreed.

No doubt Woods was frustrated and disappointed by not being promoted three times, but Conner wrote such conduct does not constitute intolerable employment conditions.

Further, Woods pointed to no evidence that Fanning’s decisions not to promote her were motivated by sex discrimination, he said.

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