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Winnebago County Commission members have agreed to settle a federal wrongful termination lawsuit with former human resources director Kim Ponder.
Ponder was fired in 2019 after 18 years with the county human resources department.
That’s action a majority of the county board took on the advice of former county administrator Carla Paschal, who accused Ponder of poor job performance and failure to educate employees about ethics. and sexual harassment annual training, and did not ensure the county complied with federal safety regulations.
But Ponder said no one raised concerns about her job performance before she was fired and the claims were excuses. She filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Winnebago County fired her in retaliation for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, political retaliation and retaliation for her testimony defending former County Commission Chairman Frank Haney, Pascal Er accused Haney of harassing her.
U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston denied Winnebago County’s summary judgment request in November, ruling that there were sufficient issues surrounding Ponder’s FMLA retaliation claim for the jury to consider. Johnston cited Haney’s testimony and other evidence that showed there was no progressive discipline and little or no timely documentation of situations in which job performance issues were raised with Pound.
“If Barney Fife were the director of human resources, he would be advocating that so-called employment problems should be nipped in the bud,” Johnston wrote in the ruling. “When employers—particularly government agencies—fail to promptly When employees take action against alleged performance deficiencies, they are vulnerable to retaliation when they ultimately address the alleged deficiencies.”
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Although the Winnebago County Commission approved a $75,000 settlement, it did not admit any wrongdoing. The settlement agreement must be accepted and approved by the court to become official.
Winnebago County Commission member Jean Crosby opposed Pound’s termination, saying the lawsuit has gone on for too long and is long overdue. While most of Ponder’s cases, including age and sex discrimination claims, were dismissed, the lack of progressive discipline argument was a thornier issue.
“There was no advance meeting,” Crosby said. “No one said, ‘You know, Kim, you need to do a little better.'” There just wasn’t any documentation. “
Winnebago County Commission member John Butita said settling the case would help end a “turbulent period” in Winnebago County’s history.
Butita said Winnebago County attorneys, including Michael Asparo and Culbertson of Hinshaw LLP, told committee members there was a good chance of winning the trial.
But Butita said attorneys also told them that a trial would cost about $75,000 in settlement and would bring the additional risk of losing, which could mean paying Ponder’s attorney fees and possibly damages.
“The board believes it is best to address and eliminate the risk of additional costs,” Butita said.
Asparro and Ponder’s attorney, Michael T. Smith, did not return calls seeking comment.
Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley said his office declined to comment on the legal settlement as a matter of policy.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Chronicle-Star.You can contact him at (815) 987-1374, jkolkey@rrstar.com and Twitter @JeffCorky.
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