A federal judge on Monday found a former Rio Grande County sheriff’s dispatcher had not shown she was subjected to disability discrimination or was retaliated against, but that a jury would need to decide whether she experienced a hostile work environment based on her sex and ancestry.

Then-Sheriff Don McDonald fired Lauren N. Trujillo in February 2021 after an investigation indicated she violated multiple workplace policies. Trujillo filed suit, alleging her employer’s justifications masked the true retaliatory motivations behind her termination.

In a Sept. 29 order, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang largely sided with the sheriff. However, she determined there was conflicting evidence about whether alleged racist comments made by McDonald and alleged policies that discriminated against female employees amounted to a hostile work environment.

“Viewing the record in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, and based on the aggregate evidence of Sheriff McDonald’s repeated insensitive remarks, the alleged discriminatory policies, and the fact that Plaintiff complained to HR more than once to no avail,” wrote Wang, “the Court concludes that a reasonable jury could find that Plaintiff experienced severe or pervasive discrimination.”

Trujillo’s lawsuit focused on Jan. 8, 2021, when a female jail detainee alleged she had been raped. Although a nurse provided instructions to staff about how to handle the situation, Trujillo did not believe the plan was adequate.

“Trujillo was demanding the inmate be taken to the hospital for medical care,” Sgt. Tristan Van Zalinge wrote in a subsequent investigative report. “Trujillo stated ‘We are better (than) that’.”

Van Zalinge further described Trujillo as “visibly upset and crying” after she called McDonald. Trujillo said, “We owe it to this girl to do all we can to help her out.”

Van Zalinge’s report suggested Trujillo had violated multiple policies by also posting inappropriate work-related videos on TikTok and circumventing a no-bags policy by using a “monstrosity” of a box to carry items — specifically, medical items related to her asthma and hypoglycemia.

“Plaintiff had been bringing her box into the dispatch area for nearly a year without incident,” argued Trujillo’s attorneys. “Further, the TikTok videos had been posted for several months and viewed multiple times long before her termination, demonstrating that the Sheriff only took action on those items because of Plaintiff’s protected complaints (about the female detainee) — clear evidence of retaliation.”

In evaluating whether to end the case in the defendants’ favor without a trial, Wang observed that Trujillo’s disability discrimination claim, related to her medical items, required Trujillo to establish her disability affected “major life activities.”

Wang concluded there was insufficient evidence of an impact.

“Absent evidence of Plaintiff’s ‘own experience’ with any asthma-related breathing difficulties, the Court cannot evaluate the ‘nature and severity’ of Plaintiff’s asthma, the duration of her asthma and associated symptoms, or any long-term effects,” she wrote.

Wang also found the Rio Grande County Sheriff’s Office had not retaliated against Trujillo for making a legally protected complaint about sex discrimination. Although Trujillo did voice her opposition to the treatment of a specific female detainee, “(n)one of this evidence shows that Plaintiff’s complaint referenced a perceived difference in the way RGSO treated male and female detainees,” Wang wrote.

However, Wang agreed a jury trial was necessary to determine whether Trujillo experienced a hostile work environment. Statements submitted by Trujillo and another jail dispatcher described McDonald referring to certain staff as “black water” or “sewer water,” which Trujillo believed was a derogatory reference to Hispanic employees.

Moreover, the office did not provide female staff with appropriately fitting uniforms and there was an alleged policy prohibiting women from working overnight shifts by default, even if they wanted to.

“Even if Sheriff McDonald’s comments could be construed as facially neutral, it is the province of the jury to decide whether an inference of discrimination can be drawn from his conduct,” wrote Wang. “And none of Defendants’ arguments dispute that RGSO’s uniform policy and alleged policy against scheduling female employees for night shifts would discriminate against female employees based on their sex.”

Wang indicated she will set a trial date with the parties next week.

The case is Trujillo v. Rio Grande County Sheriff’s Office et al.