RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal jury ordered the city of Reno to pay a police sergeant more than $1 million for violating his medical leave rights.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports the award for Reno Police Sgt. Michael Browett could be as much as $2 million once the judge figures in liquidated damages.
Reno City Attorney Karl Hall plans to appeal the verdict and declined to comment further.
Browett argued in a lawsuit filed two years ago that Assistant Police Chief Jason Soto retaliated against him for taking sick leave to care for his wife — who had suffered complications giving birth to their son — by passing him over for promotion five times.
Court documents say Browett ranked first on the lieutenant's exam in 2015 with a score of 90 percent, but was not promoted after interviewing several times with a panel of command staff.