U.S. District Court judge derails employment lawsuit filed by women at Kansas Highway Patrol

A U.S. District Court judge issued a decision rejecting claims of current and former Kansas Highway Patrol employees who filed a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and discrimination by top officers in the statewide law enforcement agency. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector).

TOPEKA — A U.S. District Court judge resolved in favor of the state of Kansas without a trial the lawsuit alleging the recently retired Kansas Highway Patrol superintendent engaged in discrimination against female employees in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Six plaintiffs in the 2021 lawsuit alleged former KHP Col. Herman Jones and Jones’ top lieutenant at the statewide law enforcement agency participated in conduct violating their First Amendment right to speech and 14th amendment right to equal protection. The women asserted KHP administrators participated in or enabled development of a hostile work environment for women by allowing what they viewed as sexual harassment.

Judge Holly Teeter issued an order of summary judgment Wednesday finding the KHP officers were shielded by qualified immunity from claims contained in the civil case. Her decision indicated allegations of plaintiffs didn’t rise to the level of objectively pervasive harassment and didn’t demonstrate legal harm.

The judge’s order addressed 15 claims brought by plaintiffs Susan Pfannenstiel, Amber Harrington, Natasha McCurdy, Kimberly Meader and Jarah Cooper against Jones, Lt. Col. Jason De Vore and the state of Kansas. Plaintiffs’ assertions ranged from free speech infractions and civil rights violations based on a hostile work environment to Title VII discrimination offenses related to gender, pregnancy status and workplace retaliation.

‘Court is dubious’

For example, Harrington said evidence of a hostile work environment at KHP could be drawn from three instances in which Jones touched her, including an October 2019 incident she described as having “sexual overtones.”

“The court is dubious that this is sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that Harrington experienced a hostile work environment based on sex,” the federal judge said. “Harrington acknowledges being touched on other occasions by Jones, and though apparently unwelcome, she does not consider them as sexually motivated.”

The judge similarly set aside a claim by McCurdy that Jones contributed to a hostile workplace by giving her three hugs during a 10-month period.

The lawsuit featured a hostile-work-environment claim by Pfannenstiel, who was KHP’s human resources director from 2017 until resigning in 2020. In part, Pfannenstiel alleged an instant message sent her by Jones was overtly sexual. She contended she also was subjected to sex-neutral treatment that constituted a pattern of harassment by superiors in KHP.

“The court is not persuaded,” Judge Teeter said. “First, the court has found that Pfannenstiel was not subjected to an objectively hostile working environment. It follows that she has also not shown that she was subjected to working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would have been compelled to quit.”

The Kansas Department of Administration previously investigated complaints from women who had been employed by KHP, including at least one keenly interested in dislodging Jones and others from leadership posts at the agency. Harrington said she hoped the investigation would “get rid” of Jones, De Vore and other KHP leaders, but denied she was part of a coordinated “coup” to oust Jones and De Vore.

The Department of Administration concluded in 2020 the conduct of Jones and others didn’t meet the definition of sexual harassment under KHP policy. Specifically, the review didn’t substantiate allegations of sexual misconduct or harassment by Jones.

Internal strife

Jones, who retired effective July 1 after 45 years in law enforcement, was hired by Gov. Laura Kelly in 2019 to lead KHP. Jones was appointed in wake of the sudden departure of KHP Col. Mark Bruce, who was mired in controversy after allegedly attempting to intervene on behalf of a KHP officer tied to a purported domestic violence incident in 2018.

Department of Administration documents showed a network of KHP employees loyal to Bruce participated in filing complaints against Jones and others.

KHP Maj. Scott Harrington and Maj. Josh Kellerman left KHP after striving to convince female employees with concerns about sexual harassment and gender discrimination to submit formal complaints naming Jones. Scott Harrington and Amber Harrington, who was among the six complainants, are siblings.

Kellerman was demoted and fired, while Scott Harrington resigned. Scott Harrington and Kellerman filed a federal lawsuit alleging wrongful termination for exercising First Amendment rights to discuss KHP issues. In December, both men settled the suit.

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