Judge refuses to toss ex-McHenry Co. deputy's discrimination suit

A former McHenry County Sheriff's deputy claiming he was fired because he suffers from panic disorder can move forward with a discrimination lawsuit against the county after a judge Tuesday rejected attempts to have it thrown out of court.

McHenry County Judge Michael Caldwell denied a sheriff's department motion to dismiss the lawsuit, in which longtime deputy Robert Schlenkert seeks more than $50,000 in damages on allegations he was harassed, humiliated and ultimately terminated because of his disability.

Caldwell did not give any explanation for his decision.

The sheriff's department fired Schlenkert in December 2007, stating that he had failed to follow an order to complete a retraining program after a 26-month leave to deal with his disorder.

Specifically, the department has said in court documents, Schlenkert failed two attempts to pass a physical fitness exam necessary to complete the retraining program.

Ericka Thomas, an attorney for the sheriff's department, argued in court Tuesday that Schlenkert's inability to pass the test, not his disability, caused his firing.

"He could not carry out or complete the order to undergo this retraining," Thomas said. "He was ordered to attend (retraining) to get himself fit and up-to-date for police work."

However, Schlenkert's attorney, Cathleen Potter, said forcing her client, a 17-year police veteran, to undergo the equivalent of basic training was an attempt to humiliate him and keep him out of the department.

"This was done because they didn't like his disability," she said. "They don't want him on the force, regardless of whether he is fit for duty."

Schlenkert, she added, was ready to return to the department a little more than a month after first taking leave in February 2005, but was required by the sheriff to visit several doctors - at a personal cost of about $5,000 - to prove he was fit for duty.

"You can be fit for duty and still have a disability," Potter said. "These two things are not mutually exclusive."

The litigation was the second time in about a year Schlenkert sued the department since his dismissal. In January 2008, he sued to win back his job and ultimately won when a judge in December ruled there was no evidence Schlenkert could not fulfill his duties. Schlenkert has not been reinstated to duty, however, because the sheriff's department is appealing.