By Fay Abramson
Published on 4/21/2005
Linda Bouchard, a former Guilford Police Department patrol officer for five years, has filed a claim with the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). Bouchard is the second female employee of the police department to file a claim with CHRO recently. Sgt. Jacqueline Cipollini, who is presently employed with the department, first contacted the CHRO in February, 2002, regarding an alleged sex and age discrimination by the Guilford Police Department and Board of Police Commissioners. Due to some budget cutbacks at the CHRO which delayed work on her case, the agency just recently imparted activity on her claim. CHRO is governed, under state statutes, to eliminate discrimination through civil and human rights law enforcement. People who feel they were discriminated in the workplace, or through job hunting, housing, public accommodations and credit transactions, can file a claim with the CHRO. The agency will investigate the allegations without cost to the claimant. In essence, Sgt. Cipollini, now a 25-year veteran with the force, claims she was passed over for the deputy chief of police position for a younger, less qualified male. She was 45 years old at the time. The town maintains age and gender had nothing to do with the decision. Bouchard alleges that while she was on duty in October, 1999, she fell into a ditch while closing the gate of a town-owned park. "A doctor in Waterbury said I had a sprain," said Bouchard. "I knew it was more than that. Later, they realized I had broken off a large piece of my ankle bone." Many doctors, treatments, and surgeries later, Bouchard claims that she has nerve damage in her foot, which has now affected her hip and back. "My foot will never be the same again," she says. She was retired from the police department in May of 2003. According to Police Union President Anthony Mastriano, from the time she was injured to when she officially retired on disability, Bouchard never came back to work as an officer. "Of issue is her right to be gainfully employed while still receiving benefits," said Mastriano, who is president of Local 343 International Brotherhood of Police Officers. According to Mastriano, the town is saying that "if she gets any type of work, they will cut her benefits." "The Board of Police Commissioners has said that if she was to go get a job with benefits of equal or better than what she has now, then that is reasonable," added Mastriano. Bouchard believes that with her injuries, she would not get benefits in a new job. "I would need a sedentary or light-duty position," said Bouchard. "Maybe even a part-time position, and that does not pay benefits." Finances are an issue with Bouchard, who is at half of her former salary. "I have had to re-finance my house," said Bouchard. Bouchard declined to discuss the details of her CHRO claim due to its pending status. "Ultimately, I'd like to go out and get a job and support myself," said Bouchard. "But I am afraid I will not be able to get benefits in a job, and I need my health insurance." According to Mastriano, six male police officers who retired on disability, prior to Bouchard, are all still receiving benefits and they all work. "I know that one runs a business, and one is an attorney," said Bob Dube, Police Union shop steward. "But they [the six retired male officers] are all working." "The town doesn't want to pay, but interestingly, the money doesn't come from the town, it comes from the police pension fund," added Mastriano. According to the collective bargaining agreement between the Town of Guilford and Local 343 International Brotherhood of Police Officers, if an officer is injured in the line of duty and is deemed unable to perform the duties of a police officer, he or she is retired with 50 percent pension and health benefits. The first amendment to the bargaining agreement states: "Effective July 1, 2002, officers who retire on a service-related disability and are no longer eligible for Worker's Compensation benefits shall receive the same health care benefits as those available to active police officers and shall pay the same premium contribution as that assessed from active police officers." It continues, "The Town's obligation to provide health insurance benefits for an officer who retires on a service-connected disability shall terminate at such time as the retiree becomes gainfully employed or becomes eligible for Medicare benefits, whichever occurs first." "The town has not discriminated against Ms. Bouchard," said Michael J. Dorney, Esquire, Guilford town counsel with Tyler Cooper & Alcorn. "Her coverage is based on an upgrade in disability retiree insurance coverage agreed to by the town and the union effective July 1, 2002."