State Department of Workforce Development Finds Former Clark County Employee's Discrimination Case Warrants Further Scrutin
Friday, February 19th, 2016 -- 11:27 AM
(Jonathan Anderson, Marshfield News Herald) -Clark County may have discriminated against a former sheriff's deputy who was fired after she tried to abuse her authority to avoid arrest for drunken driving, a state equal rights investigator has found.According to the Marshfield News Herald, the decision, handed down last week, means a judge will review a discrimination complaint brought by the ex-deputy, Carmen Stimac, 45, who claims officials imposed excessive discipline against her for misconduct because she is female and gay. This stems from an incident back in March of 2013, when she was arrested for drunk driving in Eau Claire County. She allegedly tried to use her position as a deputy to get out of the arrest and later threatened to retaliate against the Altoona Police Officer who arrested her.
Underlying the case and several legal proceedings before it is a bitter tug of war between Sheriff Gregory Herrick, who wanted to let Stimac keep her job, and a county committee that oversees the sheriff's office and that terminated her employment. She was fired in November of 2013 and she filed her complaint in August of 2014. An arbitrator upheld Stimac's firing last year as part of a grievance her union filed against the county with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.
Earlier this month, an equal rights investigator with the state Department of Workforce Development found that Stimac's complaint merited further scrutiny. The investigator said the county's Law Enforcement Committee appeared to emphasize Stimac's admission of being a lesbian during her arrest, and found persuasive the fact that Herrick wanted a lighter punishment. Unless the dispute is settled, a judge will hold a hearing in the case and render a decision.
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