A former Montebello police detective who was placed on administrative leave for failing to receive the coronavirus vaccine is suing the city for gender discrimination.
Maria Chavez tried to get a religious exemption for the vaccine mandate but was denied. She alleges that her male colleagues, however, had their exemption requests “rubber stamped.”
The city “used the vaccine mandate to terminate one of the few female detectives in the department, and notably the one who complained about the department’s hostility towards female officers,” the lawsuit claims.
Her suit further alleges that the male colleagues who were granted exemptions were friends of Human Resources Director Nicholas Razo. He is named in the suit along with City Manager René Bobadilla.
“The lawsuit contends that hostility toward women ‘permeated’ the police department, citing ‘offensive language being used to describe women’ that included a crude term for female genitalia, ‘offensive literature’ posted on department property and Chavez being denied a promotion ‘in favor of lesser qualified male officers,’” the Los Angeles Times reports.
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