KNIGHTDALE - Vickie Powers – who recently retired after 25 years as a Knightdale Public Safety officer – claims that the town discriminated against her because of her age in 2010 when it demoted her to a non-patrol position. Powers, 55, this month filed a charge against Knightdale with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In December 2010, she was “reclassified” from Shift Supervisor to Community Outreach Officer. Her annual salary dipped from $71,750 to $62,603.

It remains unclear why Powers feels she was discriminated against. EEOC filings are not public record, unless they are part of a lawsuit – which this is not. And Powers declined to comment, referring all questions to her attorney, Andy Gay of Gay & Jackson law firm in Zebulon.

Gay says he has not been given permission by Powers to discuss the case. But he described Powers’ EEOC filing as “a necessary administrative step to take before filing a lawsuit.”

Meanwhile, Knightdale on Jan. 19 released a statement intended to explain the nature of Powers’ reclassification. The town says Powers failed state-mandated tests she needed to pass in order to carry a firearm:

“After an exhaustive 23 separate attempts to qualify and an additional seven individual remedial training sessions, Ms. Powers was unable to meet the Knightdale Police Department’s standard for carrying a firearm.”

Instead of dismissing Powers, Knightdale Town Council created a position “to capitalize on her customer service abilities and allow (Powers) to remain employed for an additional year until she became eligible for retirement,” the press release says.

“We went out of our way to help a longtime public safety officer,” Mayor Russell Killen said.

It’s unclear what her duties were as a Community Outreach Officer. The town did not immediately respond to a request for a description of the job.

Powers retired at the end of 2011 and Knightdale on Jan. 11 hosted a ceremony for her at the Public Safety building. The honoree described the event as “a nice gesture.”

Litigation

The EEOC gives the defendant in a dispute 30 days to respond once the charge is filed. The agency begins its investigation once the defendant’s response has been received.

If the EEOC believes the plantiff has a valid case, it then often offers mediation to settle to cases out of court. Unsettled cases or those egregious in nature often end up as lawsuits against the defendant.

Knightdale town attorney Clyde Holt declined to comment on the ongoing case.

“There is not much I can say,” Holt said. “(The town of Knightdale) has not filed a response (with the EEOC) but will do so shortly.”