Suit filed by ex-library clerk heads for settlement
GREENWICH — A lawsuit filed by a former town library clerk alleging discrimination due to disability and gender appears to be headed to an out-of-court settlement.
Stephanie Martin began working as a library clerk at the main branch on West Putnam Avenue in 2002. She was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and informed her supervisors in 2016, her lawsuit states, and then was terminated in February 2017, following a suspension in late 2016.
She sued in U.S. District Court in 2018 and claimed the dismissal was related to her disability and to gender civilrights violations.
The town has denied the claims in the lawsuit and disputed that the personnel actions involving Martin were due to her medical issues and gender. The town’s legal staff stated in its legal response that Martin’s “employment record is rife with instances of formal discipline,
including multiple suspensions, for excessive absenteeism and use of sick leave, submitting retroactive doctor’s notes for sick days, antagonizing and disrespecting her co-workers and superiors, and failing to follow timekeeping procedures, among other issues.”
The town’s court filings cited work evaluations that reported tardiness, missed deadlines and other “unsatisfactory” job-related issues involving Martin, according to court documents.
The suit is now headed toward settlement, according to a recent court filing, possibly by the end of July. The town’s legal staff said the two sides “have been engaging in protracted settlement discussions.”
Town lawyers are set to work out the final terms of the settlement this month. The settlement process required “meetings with various boards and committees as required in the multiple layers of the municipal approval process required under the charter of the Town of Greenwich,” court papers state.
Meanwhile, the Board of Estimate and Taxation is slated to vote on a proposed $30,000 settlement at its next meeting, which will be held via Zoom at 1 p.m. Monday. This past week, the BET’s Budget Committee unanimously endorsed the settlement after meeting with the town’s legal department in executive session.
The Budget Committee did not have any public discussion about the case other than the 4-0 vote to approve the court settlement.
Martin is a resident of Sherman. The case was handled in federal court in New Haven.
The lawsuit was seeking unspecified damages.
A message left for a town attorney working on the case, Valerie Maze Keeney, was not returned. A message left for Martin’s lawyer, Eugene Axelrod, was not returned.