Opinion ID: 1194943
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Alleged Adverse Employment Actions

Text: Construed in the light most favorable to Beyer, the facts in the record are as follows: Natalie Beyer, a police detective, has a strong scientific background (a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.A. in Forensic Science). Accordingly, in 1988, the year after she joined the Nassau County Police Department, Beyer was assigned to the Serology Section, where she analyzed blood and other bodily fluids recovered from crime scenes. Over the course of the next fourteen years, Beyer observed a progressive outsourcing of the Serology Section's work, as well as a failure to update the Section with current equipment and modern technology. In 1989 or 1990, she noticed that the Department had begun sending out the DNA analysis that the Serology Section had previously performed. By 1993, the Department stopped accepting new DNA casework; and by 2001 or 2002, the Department was sending rape kits and urine stains for outside analysis. Defendants do not dispute this decline in the scientific work of the Serology Section. Rather, they confirm it. An affidavit from then-Deputy Chief of Detectives Paul A. Tully explains that outsourcing was necessary because, by 1993, the Serology Section was out of step with federal testing protocols and found it prohibitively costly to stay current with changes in DNA technology and methods. By November 1999, Beyer heard rumors and discussions about the possible closure of the Section. Apparently, these rumors had their origins in an agreement between the Detective Union and the Department, which, in allowing for the elimination of ten detective positions, specifically referenced the Serology Section. Meanwhile, another Section of the Department, the Latent Fingerprint Section (LFS), was becoming an increasingly attractive assignment for officers interested in scientific police work. [1] LFS detectives were using rapidly advancing scientific techniques and working with state of the art computer systems; none of the fingerprint work was being outsourced. In November 1999, Beyer applied for a posted job opening in the LFS, for which she was indisputably qualified. Moving to the LFS would have been a lateral transfer, involving the same pay and title; nevertheless, Beyer points to various reasons why a factfinder could conclude that, by that time, the LFS position was more prestigious and highly desirable. It would have gotten an officer out of a Section that was languishing, and it offered opportunities for advanced training in forensic science, as well as access to new technology and techniques. Beyer's direct supervisor interviewed her for the position and highly recommended her. Captain Scott Wanlass, who was in charge of hiring, firing, and granting promotions at the Department, also interviewed her and recommended that she be given the position, so long as a suitable replacement could be found for her in Serology. Nonetheless, the Department denied Beyer's request and gave the position to a male. In November 2000, Beyer applied for another posted job opening in the LFS. Again, she was indisputably qualified for the job. And as before, she was highly recommended by her direct supervisor and endorsed by Captain Wanlass, who told her that this time he would approve her transfer without requesting a suitable replacement for her in her current Section. Beyer also interviewed with Lieutenant James Granelle, the supervisor of the LFS. Lieutenant Granelle indicated that the opening in the LFS likely included between three and five positions. But, when Beyer subsequently asked Lieutenant Granelle about her chances, he told her that she was [w]ay on the bottom [of the list]; [t]here [we]re 17 people more qualified. Lieutenant Granelle further told her, when she objected to his characterization of her qualifications, that qualifications aren't everything; [w]e have to take care of the boys. . . . [W]e need to take care of the guys that did the right thing for the job for the last ten years. A month later, Beyer learned that four males and no females had been given the LFS positions. In or around May 2002, Beyer applied a third time for a posted opening in the LFS, but the Department did not process her paperwork.