Verrazano Bridges & Tunnels Officer Gets $100K In Pregnancy Discrimination Suit

A Verrazano-Narrows Bridge peace officer who alleged she was demoted for getting pregnant settled a discrimination lawsuit against the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) Tuesday.

Officer Lori Ann DiPalo, 43, will be paid $100,000 in damages by the TBTA, which “routinely required pregnant Bridge and Tunnel officers to surrender their guns and work in less than full duty status regardless of their physical condition,” according to the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In 2008, DiPalo submitted a letter from her physician early in her pregnancy certifying that she was able to perform her full range of duties. However, the TBTA insisted she see the agency’s physician, who, without examining her, determined that DiPalo could not carry a gun or perform her full duties, according to the suit.

DiPalo claims she was stripped of her firearm privileges and forced her to choose between toll booth duty or disability leave for the remainder of her pregnancy. She took the night shift, accepting cash from motorists on the bridge from 11pm to 7am.

The New York Daily News spoke to DiPalo about the demotion in 2008, who described being pregnant in her workplace as “wearing a scarlet letter ‘P’ on your chest.”

DiPalo’s case was not an isolated incident. Twelve other Bridges and Tunnels officers who claim they were similarly reassigned as a result of the TBTA’s discriminatory practices will be paid $106,500 in damages collectively, according to the court papers.

“Word got around that officers would lose their gun if pregnant. One woman didn’t say a word until she was six months pregnant when her own doctor suggested she stop,” union official Greg Lombardi, head of the Bridge and Tunnel Officers Benevolent Association told the News in 2008. “It’s like it’s still 1950 or something.”

As part of the settlement, the TBTA will revise its Equal Employment Opportunity policy regarding pregnant employees and create a new policy addressing fitness for duty status and workplace accommodations for Bridge and Tunnel officers. The agency will also train all of its workers on protections that the law affords pregnant employees.

“Title VII prohibits discrimination against pregnant employees,” said U.S. Attorney Robert L. Capers. “This Settlement Agreement ensures that pregnant Bridge and Tunnel Operating Force Officers able to perform their duties will not be forced to accept lesser roles simply because they are pregnant.”