Fired employee sues Public Safety

A former employee of the University of Pennsylvania Division of Public Safety was fired because of her sex and race, according to a lawsuit filed in United States District Court. The lawsuit says Sylvia Canada, a 25-year University employee and black woman, was dismissed from her position as Information Services Distributor without any prior warning. A pretrial conference has been scheduled for October 24 before Judge Marvin Katz. "I can't comment on how the University will react to the lawsuit," said Canada's attorney, Susan Shinkman. "I notified then as soon as I got a docket number for the case." General Counsel Shelly Green said she could not comment on the lawsuit because of the ongoing litigations, but said the University is looking into the claims and will announce the lawyer for the case soon. Canada was appointed a police officer in the Division of Public Safety in 1977, after serving as a secretary in the math department for 7 years. She graduated from the Philadelphia Police Academy in 1978. According to the lawsuit, she served as an officer for nine years and "performed all of her duties in a superior manner." In 1981, Canada was involved in an incident where a fellow officer, Dan Forsyth, refused to back her up at the crime of the scene. The lawsuits states that when Canada questioned him about his behavior Forsyth assaulted her. Forsyth was fired for his conduct, but the lawsuit states that the incident "engendered serious dislike for the Ms. Canada among many white male police officers, including [ Administrative, Business and Budget Administrator Joe] Weaver." In 1987, Canada was assigned to the position of Staff Assistant IV. While filling this position, she also served as backup to the Director of Victim Support and Special Services. Weaver became Canada's supervisor in 1993 and, according to Canada, diminished her responsibilities, despite her repeated requests for additional assignments. In a January 1996 meeting with Managing Director Thomas Seamon and Staff Relations Specialist Jeanne Howley, Canada was informed that she was being dismissed, as a result of an "alleged organizational restructure," the lawsuit states. Canada claims that, at the time, the both the position of Director of Victim Support and Special Services and the position of Coordinator III were open. "Despite the fact that she is qualified for the [Director of Victim Support and Special Services] position, and has performed the duties of that position in the past, the University was unwilling to transfer Ms. Canada to the position," the lawsuit states. Canada argues that, during her time at the University, she was never disciplined or advised that her performance was "less than satisfactory." The lawsuit also states that, at the time of her dismissal, the University made "no effort to properly secure her service revolver or identification." Canada applied for the position of Director of Victim Support and Special Services, but was informed in June that she did not meet the stated requirements for the position, according to the lawsuit. She has filed a separate claim file with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Equal Employment Commission which alleges that she was subject to both racial and sexual discrimination. "There is a separate statute that protects against racial discrimination and that is the basis for the federal court case," Shinkman said. She added that the University is aware of the other filing, which was filed about five months ago.

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