BURLEY, ID – A county jail deputy in southern Idaho has filed a lawsuit alleging she endured months of harassment and retaliation after returning from maternity leave, describing a workplace that shifted from supportive to hostile almost immediately upon her return in October 2023.
Hannah Jones, who has worked for more than three years at the Mini-Cassia County Criminal Justice Center, claims in her lawsuit that she was subjected to “systematic harassment, discrimination, and retaliation” following her leave. The facility is operated by the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office in Burley, a town roughly 160 miles southeast of Boise.
“It was humiliating and it seemed really discrediting,” Jones told Boise-based ABC affiliate KIVI. “I love my job. I have gotten to meet a ton of really cool people.”
Workplace allegations detailed in lawsuit
Jones said the environment changed quickly when she returned to duty, citing repeated comments tied to breastfeeding and her need to pump while at work.
“I came back and it was only almost immediate that I started getting some pretty embarrassing comments about me breastfeeding and me having to go to the bathroom to go pump,” she told the station.
According to her account, the behavior escalated into mocking and public ridicule. “They would make comments about how I was a cow,” Jones said. “And they would actually make mooing noises at me as I was walking through the hallways and stuff as well – in front of inmates and other agencies.”
Jones also described an incident involving a supervisor. “One of my male supervisors claimed that he thought I should have responded to a fight with my ‘titties’ out,” she told KIVI.
Complaints and retaliation claims
Before filing suit, Jones said she reported the behavior internally but felt her concerns were dismissed. “I just felt like it wasn’t taken seriously at all,” she said. “I started experiencing what I believe to be retaliation and that’s the point that it kind of got to be too much and I just couldn’t handle it anymore.”
Jones later filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Idaho Human Rights Commission, both of which she said issued findings in her favor.
The lawsuit now accuses the sheriff’s office of sexual harassment and gender discrimination. The Cassia County Sheriff’s Office did not provide comment at the time of publication.
Jones said the experience has altered how she views her career and raised concerns about others entering the field. “I feel my heart break for women that are coming into the force, knowing that that’s probably going to happen to them too,” she said.
Idaho sexual harassment lawsuit, Cassia County sheriff lawsuit, maternity leave workplace discrimination, jail deputy harassment claims, Mini Cassia County Criminal Justice Center