GREENWOOD TWP- The Greenwood Town Board has taken what they hope will be the final step to resolve a complaint filed by Fire Department member Jeff Maus against the township in June 2014.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved a settlement that includes an $18,000 payout to Maus. The settlement does not reinstate Maus to his previous Fire Captain position and waives any further claims on the issues involved.

Maus had been a paid officer in the fire department, but had his position abruptly eliminated when the Fire Chief got permission from the town board to reorganize the department in May 2014, eliminating several leadership positions, and installing new officers.

Maus made a complaint to the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI), which found merit to Maus’s claim that he had been discriminated against for raising safety issues within the department, which is against several state statutes, as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Minnesota Human Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

The DOLI suit sought to reinstate Maus to his former position, along with payment of damages for lost wages and benefits, mental anguish, compensatory damages, along with all costs incurred by the DOLI in litigating the matter.

Maus has remained an active member of the fire department since the time the claim was filed, and plans to continue on the department, he said.

After Tuesday’s meeting, Maus noted he has 21 days to agree to the settlement, and then another 15 days to rescind his agreement. By signing the agreement, he will waive any future claims related to his removal as captain.

The township denies committing any discriminatory acts against Maus or any other wrongdoing in this matter, as part of the settlement. The settlement also states that the township reaffirms its commitment to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 as well as Chapter 182 of Minnesota Statutes that governs employment law, occupational safety, and other employment-related matters including discrimination.

MATIT will pay $2,000 of the settlement costs, and the township will be responsible for $16,000.

Approves $28,000 payment to Maki

A decision by the Greenwood Town Board back in January 2016 to approve three-year contracts for employee positions that had previously been at-will came back to haunt them, as the town board has approved paying out a $28,000 severance payment to former Planning Director Julia Maki.

The town board eliminated the planning department earlier this year, which eliminated the need for a planning director. Maki had a three-year contract that ran through the end of 2019. The contract had set the annual salary at $22,000 with an automatic one-percent pay raise in each subsequent year. The contract also included township contributions to the PERA retirement program.

The three-year contracts had been approved on a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor John Bassing voting against, and Kirsten Reichel, John Milbridge, Rick Worringer, and Gene Baland voting in favor.

Maki has 21 days to consider accepting the settlement, and then has another 15 days to rescind her decision, if desired.

The settlement asserts the township’s position that it had eliminated the position for just cause, per the employment contract, a claim that was contested by the employee. The settlement states that the township does not find any merit in the claims of the employee.

Maki, if she accepts the settlement, will need to resign from all employment in the township, including the fire department and as the paid web-master. Maki lives in Embarrass, but had been a member of the fire department as a fire fighter and EMS responder, was the temporary fire department administrative assistant, and also oversaw the township’s website.

Bassing said if the case was not settled, and went into arbitration, it would have cost the township at least $20,000, in addition to the current legal fees already incurred.

The township will be responsible for the entire settlement cost.

Bassing lawsuit settled

The town board did not discuss a third legal case, a suit filed by John and JoAnn Bassing in the fall of 2015, regarding access to the written comments from the township’s comprehensive survey. The township, along with the comprehensive plan committee, had initially refused to release the comments, even to town board members.

The lawsuit was handled by the township’s MATIT insurance attorneys, and was heard by Sixth District Court Judge Staff, who ruled in favor of the Bassings, and awarded them $5,226, which will be paid by the township’s insurance.

“That was the final error and omissions case handled through outrMATIT insurance,” said John Bassing, who is now the town board chair. “This covered about a quarter of the legal fees we spent.”

Shortly after the Bassings filed the case, the town board reversed their decision and allowed access to the comments.

Bassing said he hopes the resolution of this case, as well as the two others, will lead to the township’s reacceptance into the full MATIT insurance program sometime later this year.