CRANBERRY TWP — The township sought a summary judgment in federal court Monday in a gender and pregnancy discrimination case filed by a police officer.

Township attorneys wrote in a motion that Tiffani Shaffer, a patrol officer with the township's police department, has failed to establish a case even after discovery in her lawsuit, in which she accused the township of giving her worse treatment than male officers seeking light duty when she asked for light duty assignments in April 2018 because of her pregnancy.

While Shaffer did not routinely work full, 40-hour work weeks after she asked for light-duty assignments, the township claimed “she was provided all available work that fit within her restrictions,” referring to a listing of job duties her doctor said she should not perform while pregnant.

Motions for summary judgment are made when one party believes there is no dispute over the facts of the case and argues the facts bear in their favor. In this case, Cranberry argues the evidence does not bear out Shaffer's discrimination claims. Shaffer has until March 2 to respond.

Shaffer claimed in her lawsuit that the township failed to give her full-time hours when she requested light duty, despite giving such hours to male officers who in the past asked for the same. In its most recent filings, the township claims that argument has no merit, as Shaffer worked similar hours to other light-duty officers.

The township also claimed some duties Shaffer said she was originally assigned to do were later revoked because there was a chance those tasks could put her in a situation in which her doctor's restrictions would be violated. For example, the township claims, criminal fingerprinting, appearing in court and investigating firearms sales violations could put her in a situation where she would have to make an arrest — something her doctor said she should not do.

“I'm not going to go there (assign Shaffer to criminal fingerprinting) and be fighting this fight on the other side where Tiffani goes back and gets hurt while she's fingerprinting an arrestee,” police chief Kevin Meyer said in his deposition. “And then, I'm facing the same thing. So, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

In her lawsuit, Shaffer accused the township of retaliating against her after she filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by reducing her work hours further. Township attorneys argued that Shaffer's hours actually increased after she filed the complaint, until in September, when Shaffer invoked a collective bargaining agreement provision that required the chief to give her two weeks' notice prior to a schedule change.

“No factfinder can reasonably infer that the township retaliated against Ms. Shaffer based upon her EEOC charge, let alone took any adverse employment actions against her,” one filing reads.

Shaffer seeks back pay and punitive damages in the lawsuit, which was filed in November 2019.