Marion County continues to deal with the fallout from a public sexual discrimination dispute last October, with its top officials now accused of violating civil rights and worker protections.
A fired supervisor contends he shouldn’t have been fired, while another staffer is on paid leave and claiming she was blamed and harassed when the issue spilled into the public arena.
County officials say they can’t talk about any of it; it could become a costly matter in the future.
The mounting legal troubles trace back to one public works employees’ effort to win a promotion and a leaked human resources investigation.
Last August, equipment operator Jamie Namitz applied to become a road supervisor. During her interview, she said supervisor Don Newell told her she wouldn’t be respected because she was a woman and that her “sexuality” was an asset.
Namitz, a county worker for a decade and a half, later claimed she lost the promotion due to discrimination. She complained to the county’s human resources unit, spurring an investigation.
Namitz took her claims public when she felt her complaint wasn’t taken seriously. On Oct. 3, she appeared before the Marion County Board of Commissioners, airing her complaints and accusing county leaders of ignoring a pattern of toxic behavior.
“I’m here to put a stop to this behavior, to be the voice for future women at Marion County Public Works,” she said, flanked by members of her union.
Newell was fired a little more than a week later, according to county records.
In April, Newell’s attorney notified the county that Newell intended to sue because his firing was unlawful. He said in his tort claim notice, required as a prelude to a lawsuit, that the county skirted its own policies before firing him.
Newell also blamed Marion County for details of his initial punishment – a 5-day suspension – getting leaked to union representatives, who then sought harsher punishment.
“It was made clear… that (Namitz) had immediate access to confidential personnel information when she filed her ‘appeal’ seeking more severe disciplinary action against my client the day he received notice of the suspension,” attorney Trent Whitford wrote.
Newell said he lost wages and retirement benefits in the firing and hoped to “first explore the potential for a good-faith resolution” before going to court, the notice said.
The person who investigated Newell in the first place is also claiming misconduct by Marion County officials.
Lisa Waddell, a human resources analyst, filed a civil rights complaint June 12 with the state Bureau of Labor and Industries saying she was harassed and blamed for the investigation’s leak and its emergence in the public.
Waddell’s complaint is against Marion County, Chief Administrative Officer John Lattimer, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Jan Fritz, County Legal Counsel Jane Vetto and Business Services Director Colleen Coons-Chaffins.
Waddell is currently on paid administrative leave, according to her complaint. Lattimer announced his retirement to staff April 25, records show, and officially retired June 30.
County officials declined to comment on either development, saying it does not comment on personnel matters nor potential litigation.
Spokeswoman Jolene Kelley said in an email that “all reported complaints are taken seriously and fully investigated.”
Whitford and Waddell couldn’t be reached for comment.
The two legal claims provide more perspective on the events before and after Namitz’s testimony.
According to Newell’s attorney, he made the “sexuality” statements by accident during his August interview of Namitz.
“When he attempted to say that she had been a champion of her sex or gender, however, he became tongue-tied and said, instead, that she had been a champion of her ‘sexuality,’” Whitford wrote in the tort claim notice. “Newell realized he had misspoken, but (Namitz) reacted and left the room before anything further was said.”
Namitz’s complaint prompted the human resources investigation, led by Waddell, which took place in September, according to the records.
In Waddell’s complaint, she said she found Namitz’s claims credible. She recommended Newell be fired or given a “last chance agreement.”
Instead, on Sept. 25, Public Works Director Alan Haley suspended him for five days starting Oct. 1, according to Waddell’s complaint. In her claim, she said she told county leaders the punishment was “inappropriate and inadequate.” She said she pushed Coons-Chaffins to have Lattimer “override” the punishment proscribed by Haley. Haley retired in November.
According to her claim, Coons-Chaffins told Waddell that Lattimer refused to intervene. Coons-Chaffins reportedly told Waddell to “leave it alone,” the claim said.
Meanwhile, union representatives learned of Newell’s suspension, according to the tort claim, and they filed an appeal with Marion County for more severe discipline.
“There has been no explanation regarding how (Namitz) became aware of confidential personnel actions involving my client,” Whitford wrote.
In her remarks to county commissioners, Namitz accused county leaders of going easy on Newell.
“Over the past month, Alan Haley worked with John Lattimer to see if they could keep Don in his position. They decided to go against HR’s recommendation of termination, keeping him as my department head, keeping me in a hostile work environment, sealing my fate to never be promoted,” she said.
Newell, at the time of Namitz’s appearance, was serving the third day of his suspension, according to the tort claim.
“When he encountered media reports of confidential information about details of the human resources investigation and purported recommendations of termination, he began to understand what had transpired,” the tort claim said.
On the last day of his suspension, Newell was reportedly told he was placed on administrative leave. The investigation of his conduct was reopened, the tort claim said.
Marion County officials announced Oct. 15 that Newell was “no longer employed” but declined any other comment.
Whitford wrote that the county violated its own personnel rules during the investigations. He said Newell wasn’t given proper chance to respond to the first accusations nor the appeal, depriving him of “due process.”
“As a result, Mr. Newell has claims for wrongful discharge,” Whitford wrote.
Whitford said Newell was deprived of wages and retirement benefits, saying Newell expected to work until 2021. Newell was paid $113,434 between July 2017 and June 2018, county records show.
“While we are prepared to pursue Mr. Newell’s claims in litigation, he has instructed me (to) first explore the potential for a good-faith resolution of this matter,” Whitford wrote.
Waddell, meanwhile, said she was accused of leaking the information of Newell’s initial discipline. She said Coons-Chaffins “repeatedly demanded that I tell her what I had said and to whom, and told me that Mr. Lattimer intended to fire me.”
She soon consulted District Attorney Paige Clarkson, according to her complaint, about becoming a protected whistleblower. The county found out and started “investigating” Waddell and interviewing coworkers, Waddell said.
Waddell then said she was disparaged and scrutinized by Coons-Chaffins and accused of driving away other human resources analysts. She said previously positive performance reviews turned negative.
Namitz filed her own complaint with the state Bureau of Labor and Industries on Nov. 30, which agency officials say is still open. Waddell said that when state investigators started interviewing workers, “the retaliation intensified.”
By spring, Waddell said she “began to hear rumors that Coons-Chaffins had told other department leaders that I would be gone soon.”
Waddell’s complaint also alleges that Fritz “brushed off” her concerns over Coons-Chaffins’ actions.
Waddell’s complaint said that on May 14, Marion County Commissioners filed a human resources complaint that she “behaved unprofessionally during an interview panel weeks prior.” Waddell then filed her own human resources complaint.
“County procedure dictates that anyone under investigation be placed on administrative leave; however, because the complaint named the top four administrators, I suggested I be placed on administrative leave instead,” Waddell wrote.
She said she was placed on leave but had been treated as though it were a suspension. She said the county revoked her access to the building, equipment, keycards and her work email.
“These are not conditions of administrative leave,” she wrote.
Waddell added that county administrators resumed the investigation into whether she leaked information about Newell’s punishment.
Waddell’s complaint doesn’t say whether she is seeking any damages.
READ MORE OF OUR COVERAGE:
Marion County worker alleges sexual discrimination in public works department
Marion County to investigate its culture following sexual harassment and discrimination allegations
Marion County department manager accused of harassment no longer employed
Marion County outlines upcoming review of workplace culture
Have a tip? Contact reporter Troy Brynelson at 503-575-9930, [email protected] or @TroyWB.
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