A female corrections officer is suing the Colorado Department of Corrections, alleging gender discrimination, equal pay and retaliation.
The plaintiff, Kami Cooper, filed the 17-page lawsuit on Sept. 7, 2021, through her Evergreen-based attorney, Casey Leier.
According to the lawsuit, Cooper is seeking damages to redress violations of her rights, claiming that DOC "has failed to promote or pay Mrs. Cooper at the same rate which similarly situated males are paid, and was retaliated against for making requests for equal pay."
Cooper began employment for DOC in May 2004 as a Correctional Security Officer I. At the time that the lawsuit was filed, Cooper was working under that title at Centennial Correctional Facility in Cañon City but had been performing the duties of Tool Control since 2008.
For purposes of pay and rank, Cooper was still considered a Correctional Security Officer I, despite the change in duties and working title. Her salary as of 2020 was $4,593 per month or $55,116 per year, which is reflective of a Correctional Officer I with 5-10 years of experience, but not reflective of a Tool Control Sergeant with nearly 20 years of experience, according to the lawsuit.
"Mrs. Cooper has never been offered a pay increase for performing the duties of Tool Control, despite requesting such," the lawsuit alleges.
Tool Control Officer conducts inspections of all tool accountability areas to ensure the facility tools and equipment are maintained in a clean and functional manner, conducts periodic audits of all documentation related to tool inventory and issues and ensures that each accountability area meets the standards set by policy. The Tool Control position is responsible for the handing out, logging and accountability for tools in the facility.
The lawsuit states that Cooper has never received any disciplinary or corrective actions while acting as the only Correctional Officer I in the state who was performing all duties of the Tool Control positions. When she asked her superiors about being reclassified as a Correctional Officer II because all of the other Tool Control positions were at level II, she was told that "there was nothing that could be done," the lawsuit alleges.
For more than seven years, Cooper trained a total of seven sergeants who were promoted from Officer I or regular Sergeant to Tool Control Sergeant. Four times she requested that her duties and position be reviewed for reclassification as Tool Control Sergeant, CO II, but those requests were all denied. On the first three applications, Cooper was deemed not in the top six candidates.
The typical salary for these Tool Control Sergeants/CO II's was between $5,063 per month and $5,549 per month.
Cooper has worked in the Tool Control position for longer than nearly all of these comparators yet makes substantially less than all of them ($500-$1,000 per month), according to the lawsuit.
For a year or more, the DOC maintained on paper a Tool Control Sergeant CO II position that was vacant. Cooper regularly asked her supervisor and supervisory chain of command if she could be considered for either a promotion, application or reclassification to the position of Tool Control Sergeant CO II, but her requests were denied or ignored, the lawsuit alleges.
"Specifically, Mrs. Cooper was told by her Warden and Associate Wardens that 'nothing can be done for you," the lawsuit alleges.
Because of the current court proceedings, Cooper was unable to speak to the Daily Record. However, in a Charge of Discrimination form submitted to the courts, she said she was denied and told that she was attempting to gain a "promotion" improperly.
"In 2020, I was denied a chance for promotion to COII Sergeant in my current job as Tool Control, when the job was recently posted," the form states. "They claimed I was 'Not Qualified' and selected a male for the position. Although I have been and am currently performing the job duties with all level III evaluations."
A spokesperson for Cooper said she was removed from her specialty position in Tool Control and placed in a housing unit after filing the lawsuit.
Cooper is slated for a settlement conference with DOC in September.
A similar lawsuit was filed against the City of Cañon City earlier this year by a former female interim police chief.
Tammy Wagner was hired by the City as a commander on April 2, 2018, bringing with her more than 25 years of law enforcement experience.
Interim Cañon City Police Chief Tammy Wagner poses for a photo in her office on July 15, 2020. Carie Canterbury/Daily Record 7-15-20
She served as interim chief from July to November 2020. She filed the lawsuit April 27, alleging she performed the same duties as previous male interim chiefs but had a starting salary that was between $8,200 to $19,047 per year lower than her male counterparts.
While in her position as Commander, Wagner made approximately $78,4990 per year, according to the complaint. Upon her appointment as interim Chief of Police, her salary was increased to $86,350 per year, but she did not receive any additional benefits beyond the salary increase.
Subsequent to her appointment as interim Chief of Police, Wagner discovered that she was making less than her male counterparts that also held the position as interim Chief of Police.
According to the lawsuit, Paul Schultz, who held the interim Chief of Police position from 2012 through 2014, had a base salary in the amount of $91,333. He had additional benefits, such as a housing allowance, which gave him a total compensation package of $105,397. Not dissimilar to Schultz was the compensation provided to Allen Cooper, who held the interim Chief position from Jan. 2, 2017, through June 5, 2017. During his time as interim Chief, Cooper was paid $94,288, according to the lawsuit.
"At all times relevant, Mrs. Wagner was required to perform the same identical functions as the male interim Chiefs of Police prior to her," the lawsuit states. "Those same functions were as follows: providing leadership and direction to all staff within the Department, report directly to the City Administrator, and direct and coordinate all Police Department operations and activities."
The lawsuit alleges that as a proximate result of the City's actions, Wagner has suffered "loss of wages, loss of benefits, and other economic losses, emotional pain, suffering, humiliation, inconvenience, emotional distress, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life."
A scheduling conference is slated for Aug. 8.
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