Dallas County approved a $1.65 million settlement this week with nine current and former female detention officers who sued the sheriff鈥檚 department over a former gender-based scheduling policy that a federal appeals court found discriminatory.
Weekend shifts for detention officers at the Dallas County Jail went from being determined by seniority to being determined by gender in 2019, according to the women鈥檚 lawsuit filed in the following year. Only male officers were allowed to take full weekends off.
County commissioners approved the settlement Tuesday, which came about after mediation following the appeals court ruling. After attorney fees and expenses, Debbie Stoxstell and Felesia Hamilton received $176,789 each 鈥� the highest share of the settlement among the plaintiffs.
The 2023 ruling made it significantly easier to succeed on discrimination claims within the United States Fifth Circuit, a federal court of appeals region that includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. David Henderson, one of the plaintiffs鈥� attorneys, said the decision brings the Fifth Circuit in line with the rest of the country鈥檚 stance on employment discrimination.
鈥淪ome of our clients worked for Dallas County for over 20 years and were entitled to have the full weekend off,鈥� Henderson said. 鈥淎nd it's a terrible slap in the face when you realize you're not going to be given the weekend off for something that you have no control over.鈥�
The sheriff鈥檚 department did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Dallas County District Attorney鈥檚 Office, which represented the sheriff鈥檚 department in this lawsuit, said the office cannot comment.
Senior Sergeant Christopher J. Dyer with the Dallas County Sheriff鈥檚 Association, an organization that advocates for fair treatment and compensation for sheriff鈥檚 department employees, said the policy arose as most sheriff鈥檚 department employees are female and there was a shortage of male detention officers during the week.
鈥淭hey created a male seniority list and they created a female seniority list, which basically took away the weekends off for the more senior female officers,鈥� Dyer said.
A sergeant said it was safer for men to take off during the weekends rather than during the week, according to the suit.
Although the women reported the policy to higher-ups, the policy allegedly remained in place at the time the suit was filed.
It led the officers to sue the sheriff's department for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination against someone based on protected traits like their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.
The DA鈥檚 office confirmed in court filings the policy was in place but denied it was discriminatory. The county alleged the scheduling changes were temporarily implemented because being male is a valid qualification for contact area positions involving male inmates, and assigning female jail guards would risk injury to jail employees and inmates. Also, a gender-based policy might be implemented for the privacy interests of jail inmates, the county alleged.
鈥淭he County made all employment decisions relative to Plaintiffs for legitimate, non-discriminatory, and non-retaliatory business reasons,鈥� attorneys wrote.
But Dyer said the rule didn鈥檛 make sense.
鈥淭hese ladies work in housing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey don't work in processing. So, that doesn't really play as much of a part as somebody that works in, like, intake or release, where you're processing people.鈥�
A lower court previously dismissed the case in 2020 because of legal precedent. U.S. District Court Judge David Godbey decided the women had not proven any adverse employment action was taken against them, such as being fired or denied a promotion.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals initially agreed. But upon second review by a full panel of the court鈥檚 judges in an en banc hearing, the appeals court ruled in 2023 the policy violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The judges found their interpretation of what constitutes an "adverse employment action" was too narrow and relied on 鈥渇atally flawed foundations.鈥�
Under their new interpretation, a person can successfully accuse an employer of discrimination even if it only has to do with the terms, conditions, or privileges of their employment.
Dyer said the captain and chief that implemented the time-off policy were no longer with the department after current leadership took over.
鈥淭he quality of your job as to whether you have a weekend off or you don't have a weekend off or you can be forced to do different things plays a big part in whether somebody feels happy with your job or not,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ealistically, no decision should ever be based on somebody's sex.鈥�
This ruling and others like it won鈥檛 be affected by President Donald Trump鈥檚 of an executive order that prohibited federal contractors from discriminating based on protected identity factors like gender.
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