Tarrant County settles lawsuit with woman who claimed she was fired after becoming pregnant
Tarrant County commissioners voted to approve a settlement agreement Tuesday stemming from a lawsuit filed by a Fort Worth woman who claimed she was fired after she informed her supervisor that she was pregnant.
Samantha Chandler claimed the county violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act portion of the Civil Rights Act. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act says pregnant people cannot be discriminated against in relation to their employment, including but not limited to hiring and firing, according to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.
Chandler worked as a crime scene investigator from August 2020 to April 2021, according to the suit. She sought more than $200,000 but less than $1 million in damages. She agreed to settle for $48,000, which was close to a year’s salary, said her lawyer, Ali Crocker Russell of Crocker Russell & Associates in Mansfield.
Crocker Russell said pregnant people in these situations may not know their rights and that they’re protected both federally and by Texas labor laws. Chandler initially filed her suit without a lawyer, Crocker Russell said.
“I think she deserves, you know, like a lot of credit for standing up to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department and Tarrant County in general saying, ‘You know, what you did to me was not OK,’” Crocker Russell said.
According to the lawsuit, Chandler told a coworker she had previously been a surrogate and would like to do it again. The co-worker expressed worry about the possibility of Chandler’s potential pregnancy affecting schedules. She said she felt it would be unfair that Chandler would eventually ask for light duty, according to the lawsuit.
The suit alleges the co-worker told Chandler she needed to talk about her pregnancy plans with her supervisor if that was her intention, and that Chandler’s supervisor would be the one to decide if they would retain Chandler’s employment in light of her intent to become pregnant.
Chandler found out she was pregnant in January 2021, according to the suit. She told her supervisor, Sgt. Robert Brown, in April. Chandler gave him a note from her doctor that said she couldn’t lift more than 30 pounds.
The lawsuit alleges she was sent home for the day and was told she would need to be put on light duty. Brown told her she could not work until she had a note from her doctor.
Chandler missed four days of work. She then received a note from her doctor saying she could return without restrictions, according to her lawyer.
When she came back to work, Chandler claimed she was mistreated by coworkers who were upset they had to cover for her. The coworker told Chandler she should’ve been fired for missing days because of her pregnancy.
On April 23, 2021, Chandler was fired and she later received a letter from the county that told her she was on probation and that the county didn’t have to give a reason for her firing.
A spokesperson for Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office directed a request for comment to an email that didn’t immediately receive a response. A county spokesperson and Stephen Lund, the county’s assistant DA and attorney in the case, directed requests for comment to the DA’s office, who had no comment.
