St. Louis County commissioners will vote Tuesday on a proposed $150,000 civil court settlement aimed at a single mother whose discrimination claim said she was fired from her corrections job for calling into work one time to deal with a sick child.
The settlement was the topic of a closed session earlier this month , and the settlement figure was released Friday in a board meeting agenda. Per the agreement, the county would deny any wrongdoing.
The County Board meets at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Virginia.
The lawsuit, filed in 2018, dates back to a Sept. 20, 2017, incident in which Jamie Berg called to report she could not work her overnight shift as a corrections officer at the St. Louis County Jail. Berg said her son began to experience an acute respiratory problem, requiring her “full attention,” the lawsuit said.
She alleges the county required five local and regional doctors' notes to confirm her absence and later fired her anyway for what the county said in court filings were "repeated lies concerning her absence."
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Berg has not been reached for comment.
County Administrator Kevin Gray and County Attorney Mark Rubin are recommending commissioners approve the settlement.
"The parties have agreed to a proposed settlement," the board letter released Friday said. "Under the proposed settlement, the plaintiff will release her claims against St. Louis County and its officers, employees, and agents, and St. Louis County will make settlement payments in the amount of $150,000 plus incidental amounts for taxes and mediation fees."
The settlement amount "is reasonable given the facts and circumstances of the action," the board letter said.
The settlement would also allow the county to deny "that Berg is entitled to any relief, and stating that St. Louis County is entering into the settlement agreement solely to avoid the burden and expense associated with further litigation."
A trial had been scheduled for June, but was canceled in lieu of the pending settlement.
