By Ariel Zangla
The Daily Freeman
KINGSTON — A female corrections officer who sued Ulster County for what she said was a hostile work environment has been awarded $400,000 by a federal court jury.
The defendants in the case have made a motion to dismiss Patricia Watson’s claims.
The ruling in favor of Watson came Aug. 19 in U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York. She was one of five women who sued Ulster County and county Jail officials, alleging on-the-job sexual harassment. The other plaintiffs were Ann Marie Legg, Nancy Reyes and Patricia Meadors. Amy Negron brought a separate lawsuit.
A jury awarded Negron $440,000 in 2012, though a federal judge later threw out most of her claims. He did allow to stand a claim by Negron that actions within the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the jail, after 2006 created a hostile work environment. As a result of that decision, the judge reduced the monetary award to Negron to $80,000.
Full story: Ulster County corrections officer wins $400K in suit alleging hostile work environment