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Female sues because she can't pass the test
What a load of crap!!! I tested for this dept twice and passed. I got screwed because of other reasons but this female must be nuts. First she says she's an aerobic instructor, lifts weights and then she says she's as strong as a man....then whines and whimpers because she can't pass the test. Pass the cheese please......
Scranton woman denied W-B police position files federal discrimination suit
Officer fitness test favors males, female applicant alleges
By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER
[email protected]
WILKES-BARRE - A Scranton woman has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the physical fitness test for potential police officers in Wilkes-Barre, alleging it discriminates against females.
Mary Helen Moran-Yatko says she was denied a spot on the force despite being in excellent physical condition because she did not pass the test's "window climb," which requires applicants to scale a 6-foot wall to climb into a window.
The suit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, says the test is biased in favor of men and "disproportionately excludes" women from the force in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws.
"They literally put a wall up to keep women out of the department," said Moran-Yatko's attorney, Jordan Yeager of Bethlehem.
The suit is among a growing number of challenges to police recruitment tests being made by women nationwide, said Margaret Moore, director of the National Center For Women and Policing in Arlington, Va.
The prime concern is many departments' tests put too much emphasis on upper body strength, which is not the key predictor of what makes a good police officer, Moore said.
"We always look at strength as the defining factor when it is not," Moore said. "Research shows communication skills, the ability to problem solve and de-escalate violent situations are the key components of a good officer. Climbing through a single window has never been described as what makes a good police officer."
Police departments have defended the tests, arguing the nature of police work requires certain physical requirements be met regardless of gender.
"How could you make a lesser requirement for any class of person if you can make the argument (the test) is job-related?" said Michael Carroll, president of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.
But Moore and Yeager said the issue is not whether physical standards should be lessened for female officers, but whether the tests employed by departments accurately reflect what officers must perform in the field.
"There's no question every applicant, man or woman, needs to have the physical strength and agility necessary to do the job. The question is, have you created a test that accurately measures what you need to do the job," Yeager said.
Moran-Yatko, 35, applied for the Wilkes-Barre force in 1994. An aerobics instructor who runs and lifts weights, she said she had just been awarded the highest physical fitness award at police academy training, beating out men and women in her class.
She was devastated when she failed the window climb, she said. And she wasn't alone. One of the four women in her test group passed, compared to 18 of the 21 men who passed, her suit says.
According to the suit, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated and found the female failure rate for Wilkes-Barre's window climb was 4 1/2 times that of the male's failure rate for all females tested in 1994. The agency determined there was "reasonable cause to believe" the city violated the federal anti-discrimination law, the suit says.
Christine Jensen, Wilkes-Barre's human resources director, said the city had not yet been served with the complaint so she could not comment. Police Chief Tony George did not return a phone message seeking comment.
The test is part of the Civil Service Commission's initial screening of applicants. If an applicant does not pass, the process is ended and they are not permitted to interview.
The test, which also requires candidates to run a mile within nine minutes and complete a stretcher carry and body drag, sets the same standards for males and females. It differs from the state police fitness screening, which sets differing standards based on a potential cadet's age and sex. That test involves push-ups, sit ups, leg and bench press and a 1 1/2 mile run.
Moran-Yatko said she believes she failed the window climb test because the design of the window, which did not have a ledge, prevented her from using her lower body to help boost herself inside. She said she would be able to accomplish the task in the real world.
"I'm as strong as a man, but this particular test was not representative of what a police officer needs to do in the line of duty," Moran-Yatko said from her home. "Women typically have better lower body strength than upper body strength. I was not able to use my strength to get over the wall."
Citing the pending litigation, Phil Latinski, a member of the city's Civil Service Commission, would not say if the test has changed since 1994.
Yeager said the case took so long to bring to court because Moran-Yatko first had to go through the EEOC and the U.S. Justice Department to obtain the right to sue.
Her suit seeks compensatory damages and to have her instated to the police force. But Moran-Yatko said she is not sure she would take the job now. She is employed the Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office as a liaison between police and domestic violence and sexual assault victims and is happy with the position, she said.
She's continuing with the suit more as a matter of principle to help other women who apply for the department, she said.
"I thought, so many people are impacted by this. That's when I said enough is enough. You have to draw the line some place," she said. "This represents women in police as a whole."
Scranton woman denied W-B police position files federal discrimination suit
Officer fitness test favors males, female applicant alleges
By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER
[email protected]
WILKES-BARRE - A Scranton woman has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the physical fitness test for potential police officers in Wilkes-Barre, alleging it discriminates against females.
Mary Helen Moran-Yatko says she was denied a spot on the force despite being in excellent physical condition because she did not pass the test's "window climb," which requires applicants to scale a 6-foot wall to climb into a window.
The suit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, says the test is biased in favor of men and "disproportionately excludes" women from the force in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws.
"They literally put a wall up to keep women out of the department," said Moran-Yatko's attorney, Jordan Yeager of Bethlehem.
The suit is among a growing number of challenges to police recruitment tests being made by women nationwide, said Margaret Moore, director of the National Center For Women and Policing in Arlington, Va.
The prime concern is many departments' tests put too much emphasis on upper body strength, which is not the key predictor of what makes a good police officer, Moore said.
"We always look at strength as the defining factor when it is not," Moore said. "Research shows communication skills, the ability to problem solve and de-escalate violent situations are the key components of a good officer. Climbing through a single window has never been described as what makes a good police officer."
Police departments have defended the tests, arguing the nature of police work requires certain physical requirements be met regardless of gender.
"How could you make a lesser requirement for any class of person if you can make the argument (the test) is job-related?" said Michael Carroll, president of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.
But Moore and Yeager said the issue is not whether physical standards should be lessened for female officers, but whether the tests employed by departments accurately reflect what officers must perform in the field.
"There's no question every applicant, man or woman, needs to have the physical strength and agility necessary to do the job. The question is, have you created a test that accurately measures what you need to do the job," Yeager said.
Moran-Yatko, 35, applied for the Wilkes-Barre force in 1994. An aerobics instructor who runs and lifts weights, she said she had just been awarded the highest physical fitness award at police academy training, beating out men and women in her class.
She was devastated when she failed the window climb, she said. And she wasn't alone. One of the four women in her test group passed, compared to 18 of the 21 men who passed, her suit says.
According to the suit, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated and found the female failure rate for Wilkes-Barre's window climb was 4 1/2 times that of the male's failure rate for all females tested in 1994. The agency determined there was "reasonable cause to believe" the city violated the federal anti-discrimination law, the suit says.
Christine Jensen, Wilkes-Barre's human resources director, said the city had not yet been served with the complaint so she could not comment. Police Chief Tony George did not return a phone message seeking comment.
The test is part of the Civil Service Commission's initial screening of applicants. If an applicant does not pass, the process is ended and they are not permitted to interview.
The test, which also requires candidates to run a mile within nine minutes and complete a stretcher carry and body drag, sets the same standards for males and females. It differs from the state police fitness screening, which sets differing standards based on a potential cadet's age and sex. That test involves push-ups, sit ups, leg and bench press and a 1 1/2 mile run.
Moran-Yatko said she believes she failed the window climb test because the design of the window, which did not have a ledge, prevented her from using her lower body to help boost herself inside. She said she would be able to accomplish the task in the real world.
"I'm as strong as a man, but this particular test was not representative of what a police officer needs to do in the line of duty," Moran-Yatko said from her home. "Women typically have better lower body strength than upper body strength. I was not able to use my strength to get over the wall."
Citing the pending litigation, Phil Latinski, a member of the city's Civil Service Commission, would not say if the test has changed since 1994.
Yeager said the case took so long to bring to court because Moran-Yatko first had to go through the EEOC and the U.S. Justice Department to obtain the right to sue.
Her suit seeks compensatory damages and to have her instated to the police force. But Moran-Yatko said she is not sure she would take the job now. She is employed the Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office as a liaison between police and domestic violence and sexual assault victims and is happy with the position, she said.
She's continuing with the suit more as a matter of principle to help other women who apply for the department, she said.
"I thought, so many people are impacted by this. That's when I said enough is enough. You have to draw the line some place," she said. "This represents women in police as a whole."
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