KSP captain’s sex discrimination lawsuit reaches $600,000 settlement with police
Kentucky State Police settled a sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit with a former captain who said she was passed over for multiple promotions that were instead given to men.
Jennifer Sandlin, a KSP captain who has worked for the state police for more than 20 years, will receive $600,000 in the settlement, which is to be paid within 30 days, her lawyer Thomas Clay told the Herald-Leader. Sandlin’s lawsuit was first filed in 2023, after she sought multiple positions at the rank of major throughout her career, but men were selected for each of the positions.
In July 2022, Sandlin sought a third position as a major, but again a man was selected to fill the job. The selection of men instead of Sandlin “established a pattern of discrimination on the basis of sex,” the original lawsuit stated.
“She is so glad to put it in the rearview mirror, because it’s taken a toll on her,” Clay said on Sunday. “The longer it’s gone on, the greater the toll it’s taken on her. We were so glad that we were able to reach a settlement.”
The settlement with KSP was agreed upon at the last minute, just before a jury was set to go into deliberation last week. LEX18 also reported that as part of the settlement, Sandlin must retire at the end of January and will receive 12 weeks of sick-time pay.
Sandlin is currently the commander of KSP Post 15, located in Columbia, and has worked at multiple KSP posts in her career, according to the state police website.
Sandlin was the Hazard KSP post’s first female commander. She graduated from the state police academy in 2003 and raised two children during her career, according to the lawsuit.
While pregnant with her first child in 2005, Sandlin was told by her commander that she had to bring in verification of the pregnancy. When she asked why she had to bring in verification, Sandlin was told that “verification was required because some women may fake a pregnancy to get off the road and then just say they miscarried,” she wrote.
When applying for the positions of major, the KSP commissioner at the time, Richard Sanders, told Sandlin he didn’t select her because “he didn’t want to take me away from my family,” Sandlin wrote in the initial filing.
Sanders wrote in a separate court filling that he never turned down Sandlin for either position and that instead Sandlin had declined both positions because she didn’t want to move her family and “was OK with staying at her home Post.”
A spokesperson for KSP did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.