On the agenda: Salem City Council to vote on $325,000 settlement for former 911 dispatcher
The Salem City Council is set to vote Monday on whether to authorize a $325,000 settlement to a former Willamette Valley Communications Center employee who sued the city last year and accused her supervisor of retaliating after she tried to attend the trial of a man accused of raping her.
The woman filed a $1 million lawsuit against the city and her supervisor, accusing them of whistleblower retaliation, violating her First Amendment rights and intimidating her for taking leave to testify in a criminal proceeding.
According to the complaint submitted by her attorneys, the woman was sexually assaulted by a man in Multnomah County in 2019. The man was charged with first-degree rape and was scheduled to go to trial in November.
In the months before the trial, the woman, who worked as a 911 call taker, applied for a promotion as a communication specialist III. She has worked for the department since 2018.
The promotional interview and written exam were scheduled for Nov. 9, the same week as the trial. When she told her supervisors that the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office needed her to testify at the trial and asked for a different exam date, her request was denied.
When the woman sent a follow-up email reiterating her decision to attend the trial and asking for the exam to be rescheduled, her supervisor canceled the promotion testing process.
Just before the trial, the man accused of raping her pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of second-degree sexual abuse and was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.
The Statesman Journal does not name survivors of sexual assault.
According to city records, the parties in the lawsuit agreed to resolve the litigation after court-supervised mediation last month.
"The parties have agreed to resolve all claims associated with the matter for a payment to (the woman) in the amount of $325,000 and other non-financial terms as agreed by the parties through mediation," city staff said in a report to council.
The terms include a neutral job reference for the woman and participation in a one-hour victims' rights training for certain city staff.
Other Salem City Council agenda items
A vote on whether to approve a $175,000 workers' compensation claim from the city's self-insurance claim fund.
A proclamation declaring April 9 National Library Workers Day.
A proclamation declaring April as Dark Sky Awareness Month.
The presentation of a plaque from FEMA leadership to the mayor recognizing Salem's achievement of a Class 3 in the Community Rating System program to reduce flood risk in the community and provide discounts on flood insurance premiums.
How to participate in the Salem City Council meeting
The meeting is at 6 p.m. It will be held in person in the City Council Chambers at the Salem Civic Center, 555 Liberty St. SE, and also can be watched on Comcast Cable CCTV Channel 21 or on the Salem YouTube channel in English/American Sign Language and Spanish.
Those wishing to comment in person can sign up on the rosters at the chamber entrance before the start of the meeting.
Written public comments on agenda items can be emailed by 5 p.m. Monday to cityrecorder@cityofsalem.net. Or preregister between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday at cityofsalem.net/Pages/Public-Comment-at-Salem-City-Council-Meeting.aspx to speak during the meeting via Zoom.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem City Council to vote on settlement for 911 dispatcher
