Fired Employee Sues City for Discrimination, Retaliation

A former clerk of city council is suing the , claiming she was fired because of discrimination and retaliation.

Marie Weaver, of Greenway Drive, was fired by the city on March 11, 2009. The city said she was fired for poor performance. But Weaver, who is black, claims in the lawsuit she was fired out of retaliation because she filed two complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC).

Weaver was hired as the deputy clerk of council in November 2006, advancing to clerk of council in February 2008.

According to the complaint filed against the city, which includes Mayor Katherine Procop and Human Resources Director Clayton Morris, Weaver “was subjected to myriad incidents of pettiness and hostility by Mayor Procop.”

Mayor Procop was unavailable for comment.

City officials said they will “vigorously defend” themselves against the allegations.

“The city disputes the allegations contained in Ms. Weaver's lawsuit just as it has continually disputed the identical allegations first made in the weeks preceding her termination in March of 2008,” according to a press release from the city.

Weaver claims in her lawsuit that the EEOC found “available evidence establishes a violation” of retaliation laws and she received a “notice of right to sue” from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Read the full PDF copy of the lawsuit.

The city released a press release saying it cooperated in previous investigations. The Department of Justice recently completed a nearly-year long investigation of Weaver’s complaints and will not pursue a lawsuit against the city, according to the city.

In July 2008 the city said Weaver missed the July 1 filing deadline for a motor vehicle tax that cost the $82,000 in revenue. Weaver claimed she was not disciplined for missing the deadline.

In October 2008 Weaver received her six-month performance evaluation, which she said was critical of her performance because of the missed deadline, but no disciplinary action was taken against her, according to the lawsuit.

But Weaver's lawsuit says she suffered "racial discrimination and harassment" from city officials only after they learned she had filed a claim with the EEOC. She claims the city gave her the option of participating in an employee assistance program or taking a two-day suspension without pay.

Her allegations include:

• Procop accused Weaver of being insubordinate during a meeting only after the mayor learned that Weaver had filed a complaint.
• Weaver said the locks on her office door were changed without telling her. She was also locked out of file rooms, even though other employees “each of whom were either Caucasian or had not engaged in a protected activity” had access.
• Weaver was given a 3.3 out of 5 on a written review that cited the missed deadline.
• Weaver claims she was suspended for missing the filling deadline and insubordination only after the complaint was filed. She chose suspension which she served on Dec. 2 and 3.

On Feb. 24 Weaver filed a second complaint with the EEOC that her suspension was retaliatory. She said because of her claim, the city “urged council to terminate Weaver based on the same conduct for which she had already served a suspension.”

Weaver was terminated effective March 11, according to her lawsuit.

Twinsburg Patch will have more on this story as it develops.

Article updated at 11:23 a.m.