Lyndi Trischler, a police patrol officer in Florence, Kentucky, was forced to take an unpaid leave when her pregnancy made it difficult to cover her daily routes.
Lyndi Trischler, a police patrol officer in Florence, Kentucky, was forced to take an unpaid leave when her pregnancy made it difficult to cover her daily routes.
This is the second child she’s carried since joining the force, but the first time the city has refused to accommodate her.
During her previous pregnancy she was given desk duty and worked up until she went into labor.
Recently, at over 20 weeks along, when she started to experience heart palpitations and breathing difficulties no such arrangements were made.
She had the choice of continuing with her regular duties or abandoning them entirely without pay.
Trischler was told that the city’s rules had changed and reassignments were no longer available.
Also, the only pay she could claim while off duty is the vacation and sick time she’d banked.
Concerned for her health she chose to temporarily leave the force, but hasn’t put the matter to rest.
With the help of an advocacy group she’s filed a complaint against Florence, but the city denies wrongdoing and is prepared to go before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In the meantime, Trischler is supporting herself through the generosity of fellow officers who have donated almost 200 hours of their own leave time to her thus far.
