Apr. 21—Lewis County has agreed to pay out $210,000 to former 911 dispatcher Jerrie O’Connor, who alleged that county officials gave her schedule to her domestic abuser, allowed her abuser’s friends into the facility and retaliated against her for seeking accommodations under the Domestic Violence Leave Act.The settlement was announced by O’Connor’s attorney this week, four years after O’Connor brought her suit in Thurston County Superior Court.”The settlement is a victory for survivors of domestic violence,” O’Connor said in a prepared statement. “It means that employers cannot get away with these kinds of demands for verification and retaliatory acts even when the abuser is a law enforcement officer.”In 2017, an investigation by the state Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) backed up many of O’Connor’s claims, and the agency slapped Lewis County with a $2,500 fine for violating the Domestic Violence Leave Act, which guarantees victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking leave for medical or legal reasons or to relocate.In their report, L&I found that the county acted in a “reckless and negligent fashion,” according to previous reporting by The Chronicle. L&I also found that “Lewis County was not acting in good faith” when it released hundreds of pages of information to O’Connor’s alleged abuser, who had made verbal public records requests to the countyL&I’s report also said the county had denied O’Connor leave guaranteed under state law, retaliated against her for requesting time off and requested verification of her situation not required under state law.”Ms. O’Connor provided her supervisors at Lewis County all five of the forms of proof of domestic violence provided under (state law), yet the county demanded even more invasive forms of proof” reads the press release from O’Connor’s attorney, Lauren Berkowitz.”We are pleased to see Lewis County take accountability for its actions,” Berkowitz said in a prepared statement. “This was an egregious case of express violations of the law, which Ms. O’Connor pointed out to the county in writing and in real time. We hope the county and other employers faced with employees seeking domestic violence leave in complex legal circumstances will recognize that no employer is above the law.”

The Marble Falls City Council acknowledged the work of both Dr. Jules Madrigal and the Marble Falls Police Department Communication Division during its April 20 meeting. Mayor John Packer presented two proclamations: one designating April 20, 2021, as Dr. Jules...

Lafayette 911 has moved from the windowless basement at the courthouse to a $9.6-million facility designed for virtually any emergency. The Lafayette Parish Emergency Communications Center was built with 911 operators in mind. It was designed to allow for new...

SACRAMENTO — This week, the California Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association (CALNENA) and over 8,000 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers across the state of California, presented Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) with its first ever Legislator of the...

CLINTON — Two emergency services facilities being built in Sampson County will replace a building that often floods during storms, county officials said.  The new $18.4 million facilities being constructed on 9.5 acres of land will be the home for all the county's...

Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Lead Dispatcher Amanda Hart said the first responsibility of a dispatcher responding to an emergency call was to be professional and compassionate, even when facing danger, trauma or uncertainty. "Obviously, calls are going to affect us in...

They are the unsung heroes of the front lines of first responders working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, unseen and unthought of by most. That is until someone needs to call 9-1-1. They are the dispatchers that answer our emergency calls and send...

Emergency dispatchers are trained to operate six computers, four speakers, one headset and handle multiple callers all at once. Last year, Whitman County Regional Communications Center 911 answered over 92,000 service calls, 7,000 911 calls and 20,000 non-emergency...

Oregonians may see a day when 9-1-1 is not the emergency number to call for a behavioral health crisis or need.  Lawmakers are considering a bill that would provide a statewide phone line for people to call when they need help with behavioral health needs -- whether...