Pregnant cop who asked for 'light duty' told to take unpaid time off

FLORENCE, Ky. (CNN) -- A pregnant Florence police officer has filed a discrimination charge against the city after she was told she would have to take unpaid time off when she asked to be placed on "light duty."

Lyndi Trischler, 30, is a devoted mother to her 13-month-old daughter, Rylen. She also loves working as a police officer for the city of Florence.

"The work changes every day. You have a lot of opportunities to help people," Officer Trischler said.

Trischler is now seven and a half months pregnant with her second child. She said work became difficult when her heavy gun belt crushed her stomach and her bullet proof vest became unwearable.

"It was really constrictive and I had a really hard time breathing and I started having heart palpitations," Trischler said of the vest.

Trischler said she asked to be placed on light duty as she had been in during her first pregnancy. But the city informed her its policy on modified assignments had changed. Since her pregnancy wasn't a work-related injury she said she was told she would have to use her sick and vacation time before taking unpaid time off.

"I was told that if I'd timed it better that I wouldn't be going through this. That if I had waited and saved up my vacation time and my sick time that I wouldn't be dealing with this problem basically," said Trischler, as she described what a human resources employee told her.

To add insult to injury, Trischler said she received devastating news about her unborn baby. He has as genetic, skeletal disorder.

"He just has a disorder that, I'll be able to carry him full-term and then once he's born he won't be able to survive."

Trischler filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In response to the claim, the city attorney Hugh Skees said, "We've seen it...We don't agree with it, but we respect the officer's right to bring it."

Meanwhile, Lyndi Trischler said she's been touched by the support she's received from people in the community and some police officers who donated vacation time to her so she would be paid for a longer period of time. She said she loves her job and the place where she works but wants the policy to change.

"It's a great place to work. But with this policy I think it makes it difficult for women," Trischler said.

A second police officer in the department is also pregnant.