Employment discrimination case against city dismissed

Terms of settlement closed

An employment discrimination case filed against Jefferson City has been dismissed, but the terms of the settlement have been sealed.

In December, former transit employee Catrina Davis filed suit against Jefferson City and Richard Turner, transit division director, alleging she was terminated for being pregnant.

According to Missouri Case.net, in a counsel status hearing held Friday, the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

City Attorney Drew Hilpert said the matter has been resolved, but could not comment further.

"I am not at liberty to discuss it further except that the terms of the settlement permit us to state that the insurance company chose to settle based upon the anticipated cost of defending the lawsuit to conclusion," Hilpert said in an email.

Cyrus Dashtaki, the attorney representing Davis, did not return a call for comment Friday.

According to the suit filed Dec. 21, Davis was seeking actual damages for past and future lost income and an award of compensatory and punitive damages.

The suit brought three counts against the city, including discrimination based on sex, unlawful retaliation and unlawful discrimination practice. Turner faced counts of discrimination based on sex and unlawful retaliation.

The suit stated Davis had worked as a bus driver for more than one year when she found out she was four weeks pregnant on Jan. 12, 2012. Davis reported having severe morning sickness associated with her pregnancy and took several sick days because of it. The suit alleged Turner made comments during a meeting with Davis that she was abusing sick time because of her pregnancy.

According to the suit, Davis then was placed on leave without pay under the Family and Medical Leave Act on Feb. 24, 2012, after being told by her doctor that she could not lift more than 25 pounds. She alleged the city did not accommodate her work restriction and refused to temporarily switch her paratransit route to a non-paratransit route.

The suit stated she was terminated May 16.

At the end of August, the suit stated Davis applied for a posted job opening with the city as a bus driver. She was interviewed for the position at the end of September and was informed by the city that she did not get the job Oct. 3.

According to Missouri Case.net, the parties were ordered to pay their own court costs, attorney's fees, as well as any and all other expenses of litigation.