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The City of Winder last week found itself involved in an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mediation, and it appears as if the situation has not been resolved.
Kristina Brown, the lawyer for former city employee Sue Fowler, told the Barrow County News on Friday that she "anticipates moving forward next week" regarding a complaint from Fowler against the city after its February reduction in force.
City officials met Thursday with Fowler’s party for an EEOC mediation, which did not render an agreement.
Prior to the layoffs, which were part of the city’s restructuring during times of financial crunch, Fowler held the position of accounts payable clerk, according to Winder Mayor Chip Thompson.
According to the EEOC website, "Any employee or applicant for employment who believes he or she has been discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, and/or reprisal in an employment matter including Equal Pay Act complaints may file an individual complaint of discrimination."Sources confirmed that the City had offered a settlement to Fowler, who received a severance package after her employment was terminated, but that the amount was insufficient and rejected.
City Administrator Bob Beck and Thompson both were unable to comment on the mediation, citing confidentiality. A call to Winder attorney John Stell was not returned at press time.
Fowler directed the Barrow County News to her attorney.
While Brown was unable to discuss the specifics of Fowler’s case, she did say that in situations similar to hers that people can file a charge of discrimination.
When the charge is against a government entity, like the City of Winder, there are legal claims that do not have to go through the EEOC and can be filed in a court of law without any EEOC process.
Brown said she would expect some sort of "public filing" next week.
The City of Winder released 30 employees in February of this year, as part of its "Blueprint for the Future ... a Reorganization Plan to Lay a Foundation for the Future," and restructured the way the city ran its operations. The cuts affected supervisors, planning and development employees and utility workers.
Some departments were consolidated and the City noted it had plans to outsource certain services that had decreased demand or were seasonal in nature.
With those eliminations, Winder planned to reduce its labor expenses by more than $1.4 million, Beck said in July.
However, when the Fiscal Year 2010 budget was assembled, and the salaries and benefits of those 30 people were no longer in the equation, the city was able to shave off $2.5 million.
In addition to money saved by the eliminated positions, Winder Finance Planner Leslie Ginn said in July that "some of the benefits and pay increases we didn’t fulfill" also added to the overall savings for the City.
