Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego cop worried she might have miscarriage, blamed for late notice

You're what?

The City of San Diego will pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a San Diego police officer who said her supervisors discriminated against her for becoming pregnant.

On August 1, city councilmembers are set to approve the judgement and issue Mills the check.

Mills filed her lawsuit in November 2015. Problems began when Mills notified her supervisors she was pregnant in 2009. Her ranking officer, Sergeant Martha Sainz, warned her that she may not have her job when she returned from leave. Sergeant Sainz, according to the lawsuit, also began calling Mills, "Dennis" instead of her real first name, Denise.

Sponsored
Sponsored

While on leave Mills discovered that her desk had been broken into and files were missing. She submitted a formal complaint but nothing was done. Weeks later, Mills was ordered to clean out her desk and to report to her new job in the Juvenile Services Unit.

Then in 2014 Mills became pregnant again. She informed her supervisor, a Sergeant Gutierrez (first name unknown). Gutierrez allegedly reprimanded Mills for waiting so long in her term to notify him. She responded that she was worried she would have another miscarriage and needed to make sure the baby was healthy before providing notice. In the following weeks Gutierrez began taking duties away from Mills. She filed another formal complaint and informed assistant chief Todd Jarvis that she considered hiring an attorney. Jarvis reportedly responded by telling her that doing so would jeopardize her career. Mills then hired attorney Dan Gilleon who later filed a discrimination lawsuit against the department.

The case progressed and despite the aid of a mediator, the two sides failed to reach an agreement during an October 2016 mediation. A judge set the trial date for July 28, 2017. According to the Superior Court docket, the two sides reached a settlement agreement on June 22.

News of the settlement comes as the city grapples with a twenty-year low in the number of officers. The officer shortage, as reported by NBC7, prompted city official to renegotiate the city's contract with the police union. The officer shortage has been blamed on low wages and high recruitment from other municipalities.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, ZZ Top, Gem Diego Show

Events October 31-November 2, 2024
Next Article

Two poems by Marvin Bell

“To Dorothy” and “The Self and the Mulberry”

The City of San Diego will pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a San Diego police officer who said her supervisors discriminated against her for becoming pregnant.

On August 1, city councilmembers are set to approve the judgement and issue Mills the check.

Mills filed her lawsuit in November 2015. Problems began when Mills notified her supervisors she was pregnant in 2009. Her ranking officer, Sergeant Martha Sainz, warned her that she may not have her job when she returned from leave. Sergeant Sainz, according to the lawsuit, also began calling Mills, "Dennis" instead of her real first name, Denise.

Sponsored
Sponsored

While on leave Mills discovered that her desk had been broken into and files were missing. She submitted a formal complaint but nothing was done. Weeks later, Mills was ordered to clean out her desk and to report to her new job in the Juvenile Services Unit.

Then in 2014 Mills became pregnant again. She informed her supervisor, a Sergeant Gutierrez (first name unknown). Gutierrez allegedly reprimanded Mills for waiting so long in her term to notify him. She responded that she was worried she would have another miscarriage and needed to make sure the baby was healthy before providing notice. In the following weeks Gutierrez began taking duties away from Mills. She filed another formal complaint and informed assistant chief Todd Jarvis that she considered hiring an attorney. Jarvis reportedly responded by telling her that doing so would jeopardize her career. Mills then hired attorney Dan Gilleon who later filed a discrimination lawsuit against the department.

The case progressed and despite the aid of a mediator, the two sides failed to reach an agreement during an October 2016 mediation. A judge set the trial date for July 28, 2017. According to the Superior Court docket, the two sides reached a settlement agreement on June 22.

News of the settlement comes as the city grapples with a twenty-year low in the number of officers. The officer shortage, as reported by NBC7, prompted city official to renegotiate the city's contract with the police union. The officer shortage has been blamed on low wages and high recruitment from other municipalities.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Next Article

Halloween opera style

Faust is the quintessential example
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader