On Tuesday, Greeley City Council voted unanimously to settle a lawsuit brought forth by former city employee Joyce Fred over allegations of discrimination and retaliatory conduct, paying her $230,000 plus mediation fees.
Fred was previously employed by the city of Greeley as a risk, benefits and safety manager and was also the interim deputy director of human resources. She filed a lawsuit against the city in the federal district court on Dec. 22, 2023, after her termination over a year prior.
The lawsuit alleged that when Fred began her duties as the interim deputy director, her pay was only increased by 5% as opposed to the nearly 35% increase other interim appointees received. Fred also claimed in the lawsuit that the city neglected to properly advertise openings for positions such as deputy city manager and assistant city manager.
The city denied the validity of all the claims that Fred brought to court, stating that Fred had no claims that could be clearly identified.
In her complaint, Fred accused the city’s hiring and promotional practices of being in breach of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act as well as the Colorado Anti-Discrimination law. This allegation is based on her belief that younger employees and job candidates received preferential treatment and higher salaries.
This allegation from Fred was based on her experience when the city was hiring for the deputy director of human resources position. The candidate who received the job was 30 years younger than Fred, who is in her 60s, and was allowed to interview for longer and allowed to answer more questions which gave them an unfair advantage, according to Fred’s original complaint.
“I’ve always been coached by HR and the City Attorney’s Office (including here at the City during interviews for some of my open positions) that all candidates should be asked the exact same questions to avoid discrimination risks,” Fred said in a message to the former deputy director of human resources, John Nelsen.
The second part of Fred’s lawsuit deals with what she claimed was a retaliatory termination in response to some reports she had filed about Nelsen. Fred claimed Nelsen had sent two inappropriate emails that included sexually explicit content and inappropriate language to the staff.
The first email had included links to podcasts that contained sexually explicit and offensive language in addition to the offensive language already in the email. The second email was a Valentine’s Day email sent to the staff that contained a powerpoint with numerous sexual innuendos such as “Take it off!” and “Guess who’s getting laid? (off).”
Fred then reported the emails, describing it as “highly inappropriate and hostile.” She claims that this complaint, coupled with her complaint about the pay discrepancy, led to her being excluded from promotions and her eventual termination.
The city defended its actions in response to the lawsuit and claimed that everything that was done regarding Fred’s pay and exclusion from promotions was following standard procedure. The city also defended the emails sent by Nelsen, stating that they were “intended to be light-hearted and motivational.”
With the length of this lawsuit going into its second year, the city decided that the parties should settle due to the significant cost to the city. Fred and the city had mediated the dispute, coming to the agreement for her to receive $230,000 plus mediation fees from the city.
In return, Fred signed a non-disclosure agreement and cannot talk about her accusations against the city or interact with members of city staff. With the council’s approval of the settlement, the city will consider the matter closed.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Greeley City Council approves settlement with former city employee over discrimination lawsuit )
Also on site :
- Detroit Archdiocese Announces Churches That Will Continue Traditional Latin Mass
- Nearly Half of Americans Have a Connection to Catholicism, New Report Finds’
- Bishop Barron at Religious Liberty Hearing Warns of ‘Dictatorship of Relativism’