Ferguson wins his lawsuit against LU

A Cole County jury decided Tuesday that Lincoln University discriminated against Kenneth Ferguson when it terminated his job in August 2012 - and the Jefferson City school owes Ferguson $104,901.

That's just over half what Ferguson, now 63, had asked when he sued Lincoln in 2013 for age discrimination.

"Ken Ferguson's age was a factor in his termination," attorney Michael Berry said during his closing arguments, "and he was damaged $195,000 because of it."

Berry also argued "age discrimination is more than firing people because you think younger people belong in the workforce. It's against the law to fire older workers (just) because it's easier to fire older workers."

Curtis Creagh, LU's vice-president for Academics and Finance in 2012, recommended Ferguson be terminated as a way for Lincoln to save money in the tight budget expected in the 2012-13 school year.

Then-President Carolyn Mahoney agreed, but Ferguson, then 61, filed a grievance.

Part of Berry's evidence during the two-day trial was a recording of part of the grievance hearing, where panel member K.D. Paul told Ferguson: "If I have a choice between somebody who has served his time here (and) has earned his full retirement, (and) another case, that maybe somebody young just came here, starting a job, raising a young family ...

"This person on one hand, this person can go on retirement and can still get the full salary, full benefits, everything," while the younger person "is not ready to retire and this person is going to be faced with a lot of hardship."

Kent Brown, LU's attorney, told Circuit Judge Jon Beetem - and later told the jury - those comments represented a hypothetical

discussion, and didn't show a bias.

To make a case of age discrimination, Brown told the jury, Paul's comments must have "motivated the decision, not just that it came up."

However, Berry reminded the jurors that Mahoney testified Tuesday morning she was "horrified" when she heard Paul had made the comment. She also testified if the grievance panel had sent her a recommendation other than one supporting Ferguson's termination, that she "might have acted differently" instead of approving the dismissal.

Brown told jurors "the question of (anyone's) eligibility for retirement was never used in the context of "Am I making the decision to let someone go?'"

He reminded the jury that Berry promised at the beginning of the trial "Tamala Norfus' situation and her facts were going to be persuasive" in the case.

Berry told the jury several times over two days that Norfus also had been terminated - and Ferguson and Norfus were the only two people whose jobs were eliminated.

Brown reminded the jury Norfus "wasn't eligible to retire, so (LU officials) gave her an extra month to be eligible. Her age had nothing to do" with her leaving Lincoln.

Norfus didn't testify either day.

However, after reading Tuesday's newspaper story about Monday's trial proceedings, Norfus told the News Tribune in an email that, when Creagh told her on June 25, 2012, "that my position was being eliminated due to budgetary constraints ... I had already made arrangements to retire."

Norfus said she wasn't terminated and any report that she had been let go "is quite disturbing and embarrassing."

Because it was a civil trial, only nine jurors of the 12 were needed to reach the verdict, and 10 signed the verdict form.

"I am thankful that I had my day in court and for the time and effort spent on this case by the jurors, Judge Beetem and his staff," Ferguson said in a statement issued by Berry. "My firing just felt wrong, and after my attorney dug deeper into it, I learned that it was wrong."

Berry also noted the jury's smaller-than-requested award: "The jurors clearly did their own and independent evaluation, and gave an award that they determined to be fair and reasonable. That is how the justice system should work."

Brown noted Tuesday's jury verdict was the first time in six cases involving former LU employees where the jury ruled for the employee instead of the school.