Former Uhrichsville employee drops age discrimination lawsuit
UHRICHSVILLE (WJER) (Aug. 3, 2022) – The city has resolved its legal dispute with the former employee who claimed he was discriminated against because of his age.
Jeffrey Morris has dropped the civil complaint he filed in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court last October alleging mistreatment by Service Director Belle Everett when he was 58 and employed as an assistant street department foreman. The city, in exchange, paid Morris $8,500 in two payments – one for damages and the other for his legal expenses. That’s according to the settlement agreement signed by Morris, Everett, and Mayor Mark Haney that WJER News obtained through a public records request.
Morris’ allegations included that Everett threatened to withhold his pay and replace him with a younger worker. Morris also claimed that the city terminated his employment due to him no longer being able to hold a Commercial Driver’s License because of a medical episode in January despite similarly-situated employees being allowed to continue working without one. He was seeking more than $50,000 in damages per claim. The city has denied the allegations, and the agreement stipulates that it’s not to be construed as an admission of wrongdoing.
Attorneys for both sides filed a dismissal notice with the court last week.