Lake County corrections officer files lawsuit over paint fume allergy

A corrections officer is suing the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for gender and disability discrimination for allegedly failing to accommodate her allergy to paint fumes.

Concord Township resident Jean Lynch, who was hired in December 2005, recently filed the lawsuit in Lake County Common Pleas Court seeking unspecified damages.

The suit, which was filed by attorney Peter Mapley, states:

• County officials began “constantly painting the Jail”on a daily basis since spring 2015. Lynch suffered an allergic reaction to paint fumes in the jail on May 5, 2015, which required transport to and treatment at the emergency room and several more allergy attacks at work into 2017.

• After returning to work, Lynch continued to experience symptoms related to paint fume exposure and submitted a letter from her doctor in July 2015 requesting she be kept away from freshly painted areas.

• In the spring of 2017, jail officials agreed to maintain a log of which areas were freshly painted and modify her schedule so she would not be exposed to such areas. However, two days after the log procedure was initiated, Lynch lost consciousness and underwent another trip to the emergency room after again being exposed to paint fumes.

• During the summer of 2017, both Lynch’s doctor and a physician chosen by the county stated she should not be exposed to paint fumes because of her health. Lynch’s doctor recommended she use a respirator, but jail officials determined that would interfere with her job duties.

• Lynch was placed on a disability separation on Oct. 13, 2017, and asked to be provided reasonable accommodations for her disability.

“Unlike Lynch’s reasonable and modest proposals, Defendants have spent the past three years perpetually painting the Jail, which is unreasonable and a waste of taxpayer funds,” Mapley stated in the suit.

Lynch is also claiming she was retaliated against for filing a workers’ compensation claim and that a male co-worker was given accommodations for his paint fume allergy.

She is seeking back pay, front pay, attorney’s fees and other damages to be determined at trial. The case has been assigned to Judge Richard L. Collins Jr.

Sheriff Daniel A. Dunlap declined to get into specifics of the allegations.

“It will work its way through the system,” Dunlap said.

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