Pregnant deputy; have a question....

[mrsdeputy88]

Hello i am a deputy in NC. I have been working for almost two years. For some reason my paperwork was screwed up a little bit when i first started working, but has now been fixed. BUT, my application is in pending status because of something i did when i was a teenager (im 23). I have went to a hearing, where they denied my certification. BUT, i appealed that decision and hired a lawyer to help with that. My bossman (the sheriff of course), said we will go all the way to the end and he will not give up as long as we can fight the "nay" decisions and can end up with a "yay". I am the youngest female in my department, and all the other women are past their child bearing ages like 45 and up with grown children. He has never had to deal with a pregnant deputy before. the good thing is i am not a patrol officer so i only get called to the road to fill in spots, i work courthouse security (and we are very very very slow most of the time). I am 2 and a half months pregnant and im terrified to tell my boss i am pregnant. I FIRMLY DO NOT believe in abortions. What are the chances of getting fired knowing my application is in pending status because of my pregnancy. I was waiting until my third trimester to tell him anyway, i am not going to hide it. Just a little scared of being fired for getting pregnant without even having a general certification.

[Jim1348]

First off, congratulations on your pregnancy. That is wonderful! I probably don't fully understand some of what you posted. I retired a year ago from a sheriff's office. We have had deputies that became pregnant and worked as long as they wanted to and were able to work. You pointed out that you are in court security, which is probably better than patrol for this situation. Are you saying that the sheriff is backing you up right now? The whole certification thing is what isn't clear to me. What state are you in? We have a POST Board and if you are licensed by the POST Board you are good to go. I have read that some counties in some states have no union or no civil service protection. I think they call them "at will" states. Anyway, it looks like you actual question is "What are the chances of getting fired knowing my application is in pending status because of my pregnancy?" It is pretty hard for me to answer that no knowing a little bit more about the situation. The bottom line is, you are going to have a healthy baby, so if the sheriff does something improper, call that attorney again. In the meantime, enjoy your pregnancy as best you can. Don't forget that first time moms can have a tendency to worry about stuff that usually works out for the best!

[greg72982]

Personally I think the sooner you tell the Sheriff you are pregnant the better off you'll be. They may even transfer you to something even lighter to ensure you don't get kicked in the stomach or something.

As for the certification thing I always thought you had to be certified within a year of hire. I guess technically you could still work there, you just would have no arrest powers or anything. Not sure how you can work the road though if you aren't certified.

[marinepilot]

mrsdeputy, first of all, allow me to welcome you to RP from the Florida Panhandle! You've got a beautiful state up there, I was stationed in Cherry Point two times while in the Corps!

Secondly, congrat's to you on your pregnancy! That is an amazing miracle and I pray all goes well for you. I agree with Greg that you should tell your agency right away. Don't worry about the job or anything else since that will all work itself out in the long run, but right now you have to worry about you and that unborn child you're carrying!

Thirdly, I am also having trouble understanding how you can be a road deputy with powers of arrest yet have not been certified by your state. And it poses more problems here at RP than just wondering, because if you are not a certified LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) with powers of arrest, then you will not qualify for verification here at RP, which means you have chosen a nickname that will have to be changed. Please take a look at this link (Verified LEO Guidelines) and see if, according to these guidelines, you would be able to become a verified LEO here. If so, send a PM to one of the verifiers at the bottom of the screen with the following info and we'll get you verified right away. (See also this link - Supporting Member / LEO Verification - for more info on becoming verified). I am also a verifier so if you PM me your info, I can get on your verification right away. Now, if it turns out you fall into one of the categories that we do not allow to be verified here, please think of a new nickname and PM that to me or another Moderator and we can forward that request to the admin's and they can change your name (the rules state you can not have a nickname that represents you as an LEO if you can not become a Verified LEO).

Please let me know as soon as possible if you'll be applying for verification or requesting another nickname. Thanks for understanding.

marinepilot

[retdetsgt]

I would think he would be in violation of federal law if he fired you simply for being pregnant. The certification thing is a whole different ball game though. He could use that as the reason and be perfectly within his rights.

But like Greg said, there is no way you could be a deputy here for that long and not be certified by the state.

[greg72982]

I would think he would be in violation of federal law if he fired you simply for being pregnant. The certification thing is a whole different ball game though. He could use that as the reason and be perfectly within his rights.

But like Greg said, there is no way you could be a deputy here for that long and not be certified by the state.

When I lived in NC for a year I remember someone at the Sheriff's department saying that NC still has an old school style law on the books where you can be hired off of the street and actually work as a sworn deputy as long as you complete the academy (BLET) within the first year.They said it's not often done but technically you can. That what they did with me as a detention officer, I got hired and had to complete a 4-week academy within the first year.

To me if the academy was completed and the certification exam was successfully passed then the issue is with the department, nto the state. Unless she had another job within the department before being a deputy I don't see how she can be an active deputy working anything, even the courthouse.

[Joeyd6]

Marinepilot, she did PM me her info this monring.

I am betting her situation is like some areas where you can self-sponser yourself in the academy or the academies are regionally run. The academies are state recognized, so when you graduated you may trained, but your certification is not active nuntil you are employed and sponsored. You can go through 100 academies in NJ. But if teh agency is not sponsoring you, you are not certfied. Thus the agency can say yes and hire you but the state can say no for any reason.

[marinepilot]

Marinepilot, she did PM me her info this monring.

Good deal, thanks Joey. I have a feeling this would be a tough one, so I'm glad you're handling it!

[mrsdeputy88]

Thank you for your responses. I am BLET certified and i started work right after i graduated. I was sponsered by the department i work for. From my understanding the sheriff in the state of North Carolina can hire whoever he/she wants. They must be BLET certified within that year of working. With the sheriff office you can work without a BLet certification for up to a year and the sheriff can extend that year for whatever reason. I am covered under my agency and my state because of my state (general certification) is in pending status so i do have arresting powers and can work anywhere whether courthouse or patrolling. So technically the sheriff has the right to keep me employed as long as the state says its ok. And being that my certificate is in pending status it is ok. After my first hearing i appealed and have to go to another one (which will be held in a higher court). My general certification is in the same status its in like if you are in your probationary status kind of sort of. So i am a certified leo (technically). Just waiting for my general certification. And like i said before sheriff can extend employments for as long as he/she wants while certification is in pending status. If the person is not BLET certified you can work for up to a year before you have to get certified, and the sheriff can extend that for another year. But if you are in pending status and already completed BLET. You can stayed employed for as long as the sheriff holds you. It just lie being in probationary status.

[greg72982]

Thank you for your responses. I am BLET certified and i started work right after i graduated. I was sponsered by the department i work for. From my understanding the sheriff in the state of North Carolina can hire whoever he/she wants. They must be BLET certified within that year of working. With the sheriff office you can work without a BLet certification for up to a year and the sheriff can extend that year for whatever reason. I am covered under my agency and my state because of my state (general certification) is in pending status so i do have arresting powers and can work anywhere whether courthouse or patrolling. So technically the sheriff has the right to keep me employed as long as the state says its ok. And being that my certificate is in pending status it is ok. After my first hearing i appealed and have to go to another one (which will be held in a higher court). My general certification is in the same status its in like if you are in your probationary status kind of sort of. So i am a certified leo (technically). Just waiting for my general certification. And like i said before sheriff can extend employments for as long as he/she wants while certification is in pending status. If the person is not BLET certified you can work for up to a year before you have to get certified, and the sheriff can extend that for another year. But if you are in pending status and already completed BLET. You can stayed employed for as long as the sheriff holds you. It just lie being in probationary status.

I see, now it makes sense. I never heard of the extension but you'd know better than me...

[Legoate]

I've always wondered at the wisdom of going light duty when one is on probation. It has happened several times in my department where people are on probation for several years because they decided to join the department and immediately become pregnant several times in a row.