CARSON CITY -- A state hearing officer has ruled a female correctional officer who engaged in oral sex with a male officer while at work cannot be terminated from her job at the Lovelock Correctional Center.
Hearing officer Patrick Dolan reinstated Amie L. Bianchini to her prison job with back pay and benefits. The March 2 decision was made public Thursday.
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For the type of actions engaged in by Bianchini, current prison regulations permit a maximum punishment of a 30-day suspension without pay, Dolan said.
She was fired last November after prison authorities learned she and a fellow correctional officer, Sean Hoferer, engaged in oral sex in a bathroom at the prison while inmates were in lock-down status. Hoferer quit his job once the incident became known to authorities.
In making the ruling, Dolan noted that prison officials said during an earlier hearing that they will amend regulations to specify that employees will be terminated the first time they engage in sexual activity on the job.
He said he "lauded" prison officials for moving to change the regulations and advised them to move quickly.
