Real Life Story of Disparate Treatment

Gywneth, Deputy Constable- Harris County, Texas

Gwyneth was a deputy constable for the city of Harris County. After being passed over for a promotion to full-time deputy constable and being treated unfairly in her duties she decided to file a claim against her employer. Once another position, that of sergeant became vacant, a series of successive openings in lower ranks opened up because each person moved up to fill the next higher slot. The ripple effect created a vacancy for a full-time deputy position. The Precinct Captain testified at trial that seniority strongly influenced how vacancies were filled. Although Gwyneth was next in seniority for the full-time deputy opening, Harris County did not interview her. Gwyneth knew through rumors that the position would become available, but did not learn until after the fact that a man had been hired to fill it. Harris County claimed that they didn't promote her because they weren't pleased with her work product. But Gwyneth had received a 9 out of 10 on her performance evaluation. The court saw this as a signpost that something was amiss in Harris County and ruled in favor of Gwyneth. While the court vacated many of the damages she had received in her original trial, Gwyneth won the satisfaction of knowing her employer would be held accountable and got a new hearing on her damages.

Rutherford v. Harris County, 197 F.3d 173 (5th Cir. 1999)