The Attorney General’s Office is alleging judicial error in seeking a new trial of a lawsuit in which a veteran California Highway Patrol lieutenant commander was awarded $2.15 million in her lawsuit alleging she was wrongfully denied promotions in favor of candidates with inferior qualifications.
Lt. Laura Hill’s Los Angeles Superior Court originally alleged gender discrimination. However, just before trial Judge Stephanie M. Bowick changed the cause of action to one of single-mother discrimination. In court papers filed with Bowick on Aug. 2, the Attorney General’s Office maintained that decision was legally wrong and harmful to their case. The verdict was reached by a jury on June 5.
“The CHP was severely prejudiced by the court’s decision changing the case from a gender discrimination case to a single mother discrimination case on the eve of trial,” according to the Attorney General’s Office’s pleadings.
The ruling placed Hill “in a class of one” and “repeated reference to plaintiff as a single mother also caused inherent sympathy for plaintiff and undue prejudice to the CHP,” according to the Attorney General’s Office’s court papers.
“What’s more, the evidence at trial established that Plaintiff was not, in fact, a single mother, and the theory was not a proper subject of administrative exhaustion because it is not mentioned in plaintiff’s administrative complaint to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing,” the Attorney General’s Office further argues in its court papers.
The Attorney General’s Office also is seeking judgment in favor of the CHP notwithstanding the verdict. A hearing on both motions is scheduled Sept. 16.
Hill graduated from the CHP academy in 2002 and was promoted to sergeant seven years later, then lieutenant in 2015, the suit stated. At the time her lawsuit was filed in May 2020 she was a lieutenant commander at the Castaic Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility, the suit stated.
Hill also obtained a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Cal State Fullerton in 1998, has received several awards and has extensive professional training, the suit stated.
In a prior assignment, Hill served as the lieutenant in the investigation services unit, where she supervised five sergeants and 30 officers, the suit stated.
In April 2018, she sought a promotion to captain, the suit stated. She scored 15th out of 73 candidates and was the top candidate in the Southern Division, encompassing the Los Angeles County area, according to the complaint.
In May 2018, she received a phone call from a chief and an assistant chief, who congratulated her on her placement, the suit stated. The chief then asked her where she lived. After she replied, “Valencia,” the chief said, “Because, you know we take that into consideration when making decisions about these commands,” the suit stated.
Hill found the chief’s statement “odd” because numerous captains do not live close to their jobs and candidates are free to choose whether they are willing to work in a particular area, according to the suit.
A month later, Hill interviewed for the captain position in the West Los Angeles area, but the post was given to a male candidate who scored 34 spots lower, the suit stated.
In January 2019, she interviewed for a position in West Valley Command. Four months later, the job was granted to a male candidate who scored 26 places lower, the suit stated.
In a discussion of her performance, a chief told Hill “she should have brought up the use of social media during her interview,” the suit stated.
Hill subsequently met with a chief to discuss work-related matters and asked him for advice on improving her promotional chances, the suit stated. He replied that “she was doing a great job and should continue putting in for positions,” the suit stated.
In October 2019, Hill interviewed for the job of Central Los Angeles Command, but the job went to a male candidate who placed 35 spots below her, according to the suit.
During a conversation with a chief, he asked her, “How can you be available as a commander as a single mom?,” according to the suit, which further stated that she replied that she already was on call in her current position and had arrangements for her daughter should the need arise.
Hill was eventually chosen in 2019 for the lieutenant commander job in Castaic, a small station that does not have a captain and is tasked with weighing trucks, the suit stated. She was passed over for other more coveted promotions in 2019 and this year, the suit stated.