Orlando officer suing department for gender, disability discrimination fired while awaiting retirement decision

Dec. 5--An Orlando police officer who is suing the department for gender and disability discrimination was fired today, as her application for disability retirement awaits a decision.

The termination came at a meeting Thursday morning with city and department brass, after Officer Elizabeth Waba-Daniels was told in a memo Wednesday that she surpassed the amount of time an officer is allowed to work limited duties under OPD policy and her application for a disability pension has been pending longer than the agency's contract with its union allows.

The firing has no impact on her retirement application, as the police pension board is "an independent legal entity," the city has said.

Joe Cline, attorney with Appel Law Group, which is representing Waba-Daniels in her lawsuit against the department, was at the meeting Thursday, and said in an interview afterward that OPD offered Waba-Daniels the option of taking unpaid leave as an alternative to termination. He said she declined because choosing to leave work voluntarily could impact potential Worker's Compensation benefits.

Cline said Waba-Daniels felt "like she was left with no option."

Waba-Daniels has been in an alternative duty position since May 2018, when she was thrown from a police horse while patrolling. The incident left her with "severe injuries" that required a partial hysterectomy, she said in a lawsuit filed against the department in September.

Waba-Daniels is one of three women who sued OPD since August, claiming the department discriminated against them. The women argued injured female officers are often relegated to administrative duties while disabled men are sometimes given more prestigious positions.

Jeffrey Appel, the attorney representing Waba-Daniels in the suit, said Wednesday the cop was "frustrated and confused" by the termination notice, which was sent less than 24-hours before the scheduled meeting with supervisors.

Deputy Chief Eric Smith's memo said OPD policy caps the amount of time an employee can work in an alternative duty position or take personal or family leave at one year. Anyone who is "unable to return to full and unrestricted duty" after that time "will be terminated from employment," Smith wrote.

He also cited the agency's union contract, which allows an employee who applies for disability retirement 180 days to win their case or face termination.

Waba-Daniels said in a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission that she was assigned to the information desk after her injury, which she claimed is "a position widely known to be assigned to employees who are being disciplined and/or who are alleged to be faking injuries."

She also said she was harassed and retaliated against after getting an breast enhancement surgery in 2015.

Two other OPD officers who were initially given notice of termination while awaiting a decision on their retirement applications this year avoided being fired despite their applications having surpassed the 180-day period.

The officers, Michael Napolitano and Alison Clarke, both suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following the Pulse nightclub massacre in 2016.

In September, the pension board worked with the city to expedite Napolitano's case, and board members voted to grant his pension. In Clarke's case, the agency chose not to fire her at a termination hearing last month, saying at the time they "continue to work with her on her request for a January hearing date regarding her request for a disability pension."

Before the meeting Thursday, Appel said that he didn't know what to expect "because of the ad-hoc nature of the way these seem to be handled."

In response to questions about the OPD policy and contract provision cited in the memo, agency spokesman Sgt. David Baker said in an email Wednesday Waba-Daniels "will receive the same process as every other pension applicant."

Cline said the meeting Thursday felt "very impersonal to a person who has put their life on the line for the city."

Waba-Daniels has appealed her firing, filing a grievance with the Fraternal Order of Police union that represents Orlando officers, Cline said.

He added that her lawsuit against the department will be amended to include mention of her firing, which the attorneys believe violates Florida law and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"She put a badge on every day and went to work with no guarantee of coming on home at night," Cline said. "She expected an on-duty injury not to end with her being terminated."

tsheets@orlandosentinel.com

___

(c)2019 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.