Employee Suing Newport PD Quits Job, Cites Hostility : Litigation: Animal control officer who collected disability said she’s been ‘forced to move’ because city stopped paying her. City manager calls it a legal maneuver.

One of the 10 women suing the Police Department, former Chief Arb Campbell and former Capt. Anthony Villa quit her job this week, saying she cannot go back to work at the department because the environment there is too hostile.

Michelle LeFay, an animal control officer who filed a workers’ compensation claim Oct. 22 and collected payments for disability, vacation and sick days until May 6, said in a letter to City Manager Kevin J. Murphy that she has been “forced to move out of state and rely on my parents for support” because the city stopped paying her.

LeFay’s doctor believes her stress-related disability persists and prevents her from working, according to papers the physician has filed with the city, but a physician hired by the city determined Jan. 22 that she does not have an ongoing condition. Murphy then denied her workers’ compensation claims.

In an interview Thursday, Murphy said that since Campbell and Villa are no longer with the department the sexual harassment allegations against them no longer warrant stress leave for LeFay. He called her resignation a legal maneuver, and suggested that LeFay would later contend that she was forced to resign and therefore deserves more money from the city.

“There is absolutely no reason that she couldn’t come back to work,” Murphy said. “It’s her choice.”

LeFay and seven of her co-plaintiffs have a workers’ compensation hearing scheduled for November. Of the nine women involved in the suit besides LeFay, two are still working, six are on leave and have requested long-term disability, and one has quit.

Beno Hernandez, a legal representative of the women, said at least two other plaintiffs have been struggling financially since their disability benefits were cut off, but that he did not believe others were planning to resign.

“It’s been difficult financially,” said Margaret McInnis, 39, a communications supervisor who is part of the lawsuit and has been off on a work-related injury and stress claim for almost a year. “We knew that it was going to be difficult, we knew that we’d be facing an uphill battle all the way but there was a principle involved.”

McInnis is currently collecting about half of her former salary through a workers’ compensation-disability claim. She said she agrees with LeFay that returning to work would be impossible--even though a new chief who has promised to fight sexual harassment was sworn in Monday.

“There’s still a lot going on over there,” she said. “I’m still convinced that there might be retaliation.”

LeFay could not be reached for comment.

Campbell and Villa were fired this winter, then rehired and immediately retired in June.

Correspondent Bob Elston contributed to this report.