A bus driver has settled her lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, alleging she was fired in 2023 in retaliation for taking time off to heal from injuries she received after her coach hit a metal plate on the road that jarred her several inches out of her seat.
Kristen Dailey’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations included retaliation, medical leave discrimination, medical and paid sick leave discrimination and failure to accommodate and engage in the interactive process. On May 1, her attorney filed court papers with Judge Virginia Keeny notifying her of an “unconditional” resolution of the case. No terms were divulged.
In their previous court papers, Metro attorneys denied Dailey’s allegations and said the plaintiff was someone who simply was “not available for work” at Metro due to poor attendance.
“A bus operator needs to be available to work for Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority,” the Metro lawyers stated in their pleadings. “Otherwise, the public suffers. People rely on bus operators. When they are not there, there are problems that will develop.”
The Metro attorneys further contended Dailey was trying to hold the agency accountable for her own “chronic irresponsibility, repeated policy violations and habitual poor attendance.”
Dailey suffered no retaliation, no discrimination and no failure to engage in a timely and good-faith interactive process, the Metro lawyers further stated in their court papers.
“She simply wasn’t available,” according to the Metro attorneys. “She knows that. The (driver’s) union does too.”
According to her lawsuit, Dailey was hired as a bus operator in 2019. She was driving her usual Wilshire Boulevard route on May 6, 2022 when she drove over a metal plate on the road that was put there during construction and was not entirely flat.
Dailey was thrown seven inches above her seat before falling back down. She later felt sharp pain in her back, legs and feet, so she pulled over, waited until feeling in her legs and feet returned and then drove on to drop off her last passengers, the suit stated.
Two days later, a workers’ compensation doctor diagnosed Dailey with a bulging disc in her spine, according to the suit, which further stated the physician placed Dailey off work for a month.
The leave was later extended and Dailey was not cleared to return to work until May 2023, when she wore a back brace for four months, the suit stated. However, she later developed right foot pain and needed more time off, the suit further stated.
When Dailey went back to her job in September 2023, her division director allegedly told her to sign a document stating that she had used all her allowed absences and gave her a questionnaire for her doctor to fill out. When Dailey asked to review the questionnaire, a human resources representative told her, “It doesn’t work like that. You have to wait for it,” the suit filed in August 2024 stated.
But Dailey never received the questionnaire and was fired in October 2023, the suit stated.
In a subsequent meeting, the director told Dailey, “Absolutely not” when the plaintiff asked if she could reapply for her position in the future, according to the suit, which further stated the director later escorted the plaintiff out of the building.