Judge increases Madison County discrimination fine to nearly $660,000

A federal judge has issued an order increasing the cost of a discrimination suit against Madison County to nearly $660,000 — a suit may top $1 million after legal fees.

In 2014, former comptroller Linda Dunnagan sued Madison County Treasurer Kurt Prenzler for discrimination, alleging that she was pressured to quit after she returned to work following a life-threatening illness. She declined and said she wanted to continue working, but then Prenzler eliminated her position.

Dunnagan sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act in federal court. According to members of the county finance committee, Prenzler and Dunnagan went before a federal Equal Employment Opportunity commission for mediation, which recommended settling.

Prenzler refused, and the case went to trial. In February, the jury rendered a verdict in Dunnagan’s favor and awarded $450,000 in compensatory damages. The court then considered whether to award Dunnagan her lost pay for two years and her attorney’s fees.

The county had argued that Dunnagan’s compensatory damage should be limited to $50,000, and that the back pay should be reduced because she refused a new job offer at half her old salary. But the court found that “the defendants’ offer of a lower-paying, nonsupervisory and otherwise un-comparable position was not an offer made in good faith.”

Therefore, Dunnagan will be paid for the two years’ salary she lost, and reimbursed for her attorneys’ fees. That increased the total award to $658,898. Once the county’s legal costs are factored in, the final cost to taxpayers will be approximately $1 million, according to county officials.

The court also issued an injunction against Prenzler’s office prohibiting further violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Dunnagan’s attorneys had requested the injunction, arguing that the county had taken no steps to prevent discrimination against the disabled since Dunnagan’s firing.

County lawyers argued against the injunction, stating that injunctions are inappropriate where there is “no consistent pattern of discrimination,” but in its order Monday, the court disagreed.

“Nothing in the record indicates that Defendants took any steps to prevent such discrimination from occurring in the future,” read the opinion written by federal District Judge Staci Yandle.

Prenzler is currently running for county chairman opposite incumbent Alan Dunstan. Prenzler said he had not yet seen the judge’s order, but had discussed it briefly with the county’s attorneys.

“This isn’t over,” he said. “There are excellent grounds to appeal.” He declined to discuss specifics.

Dunstan called on Prenzler to issue a public apology to Dunnagan and to taxpayers.

“Prenzler trampled on the rights of this woman,” Dunstan said. “There is no excuse for discriminating against any employee, much less a disabled employee. … A jury has found him guilty of violating this woman’s rights and the taxpayers are going to have to pay the price for his bad judgment.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Judge increases Madison County discrimination fine to nearly $660,000."