Ohio jail fights women guards’ discrimination suit

AKRON, Ohio — The federal government has put its weight behind a discrimination lawsuit filed by female jail guards in Ohio who say a new personnel policy amounts to demotions because they’re barred from most jobs overseeing male inmates.

The lawsuit was filed last year against the Summit County jail in Akron. The U.S. government’s top civil rights attorney asked a judge last week to allow the government to join the case against the jail.

The women claim a personnel policy that went into effect this year limits job options because they are mostly assigned to oversee female inmates. Eighty-two percent of inmates and 80 percent of deputies are male.

The jail says female guards with seniority were bidding on jobs that jeopardized privacy issues involving strip searches and cellblock showers.