The unanimous decision found that Martha Haire offered sufficient evidence to warrant a jury trial.
Haire joined the department in 1988 and was promoted to major in 2005. In 2007, she applied to replace the retiring police chief. However, an interim chief held the position for two years while the chancellor searched for a permanent replacement.
During that time, the interim chief made sexist remarks, including emailing “dumb blonde” jokes to a police employee, the suit claims. Also during that time, Haire was allegedly excluded from decision-making and encountered repeated acts of hostility from a male major, Lawrence Rabalais, who eventually became permanent chief.
