Three former Cole County Emergency Medical Services employees have filed employment discrimination lawsuits against the county.
The documents were filed Monday but were not made public until Tuesday, as Monday was a state holiday, court records show.
The suits were filed by Kim Kline, Aaron Steenbergen and Michael Burks.
Kline was an employee from April 2001 through April 2018. Steenbergen was employed for over 22 years, and Burks worked with the county from September 2009 through April 2018.
Kline was a paramedic, Steenbergen was a captain, and Burks was an emergency medical technician.
In their suits, the former employees claim former Cole County EMS Director Jerry Johnston "showed disdain for the older and more experienced employees." They also claim Johnston would often "socialize with younger employees, in and out of work, while excluding older employees."
The former employees allege Johnston had hired trainers to train EMS employees on new computer software, but "Mr. Johnston got everyone so drunk the night before the trainers weren't actually able to train the staff the next day," according to court documents.
Kline also claims Johnston made sexual comments toward female employees and that he "attempted to kiss female employees without consent" on several occasions. Kline says in her suit that Johnston invited her over to his house to use the hot tub and drink beers, but she declined; Kline claims Johnson stopped interacting and speaking with her after this incident.
The former employees say Johnston discussed firing older EMS employees in fall 2017 but was not immediately able to do so. Kline claims Johnston was able to "convince the Cole County Commission to give him authority to terminate employees."
Kline claims that in January 2018 she received low scores on her performance evaluation for attitude and behavior, which she had never gotten before. She said she later learned Johnston had instructed the evaluator to give Kline low scores.
Johnston fired Kline on April 20, 2018, according to the lawsuit.
Also on April 20, 2018, Johnston reportedly fired Steenbergen and Burks.
All three claim Johnston "kept a list of people to fire, with older employees at the top."
The three former employees are asking Cole County Judge Dan Green, who has been assigned the cases, to award them damages, costs, attorney fees and other relief as the court sees fit. They also demand jury trials. No hearings have been scheduled in the cases, as of Tuesday afternoon.
Kline added in her suit that she was discriminated against because of her sex. She said she has suffered emotional and mental stress and should be awarded damages "in an amount that will punish the defendant and deter the defendant and other from like conduct."
Cole County commissioners, who were holding their regular meeting Tuesday, declined to comment on the lawsuits when asked.
Johnston submitted his resignation as EMS director in June 2018. Matt Lindewirth, who had just been hired to begin as deputy chief, was promoted to chief and remains in that position as head of the EMS service.
At the time, Johnston said the decision was his alone.
Johnston's resignation came after long-time staff members were dismissed, followed by others resigning, in April 2018. Those who departed said they questioned Johnston's leadership and felt it was best he be let go, but the Cole County Commission decided to stay with Johnston as director.
This occurred at a time when the service was down as many as seven to eight paramedic positions and was finding it hard to recruit those workers. (The service was down to two paramedic openings as of Tuesday.)
The service also went from 24-hour to 12-hour shifts, something those who left or were let go said was a mistake. (The service is currently running 12-, 24- and 48-hours shifts.)
Johnston officially stopped working for Cole County EMS in September 2018.
This article was edited at 8 a.m. Oct. 16, 2019, to clarify the timeframe of the hiring of Matt Lindewirth.