Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The city of Sweet Home settled a lawsuit with Public Works employee Rick Kopf for $175,000.
Kopf sued the city for violating the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and Oregon laws prohibiting disability discrimination. The suit also charged that the city retaliated against him for use of the Family Medical Leave Act and for using the Workers Compensation system.
Along with the monetary award, the settlement requires the city to remove all negative documents from Kopf’s official personnel file, provide a written apology and to require City Manager Craig Martin, Maintenance Supt. Pat Wood and Public Works Director Mike Adams to attend Equal Employment Opportunity Commission training for a full day, along with any other city management who wish to attend.
“We regret the events that took place that gave rise to this lawsuit,” Martin wrote in the letter of apology. “I apologize for any distress that you experienced as a result of these events, and we look forward to having you remain a valued employee of the city of Sweet Home.”
“We tried to settle two times before,” Martin told The New Era. “We’re just glad that it’s resolved and we can continue on.”
“It’s something I can live with,” Kopf told The New Era. “I appreciate the way that the city manager had apologized to me, and I feel that it’s sincere.
“This was more than a money issue. It was an issue of right and wrong.”
He said he didn’t want to talk about his disability publicly.