Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
After a special closed session meeting Friday, the Shawano Common Council approved a settlement agreement with a city police officer who filed a sex discrimination suit last year against Police Chief Mark Kohl.
Officer NiCole Fischer, formerly Hoffmann, claimed in a lawsuit filed in federal court in May of last year that Kohl delayed hiring her at the department because of her gender.
The case had been scheduled for a jury trial in August.
Fischer maintained Kohl declined to hire her in July 2014 because the department at that time was not interested in additional female officers.
According to the civil complaint, Fischer finished third on a list of potential new hires.
When the first two male applicants on the list were offered the job and turned it down, Kohl bypassed Fischer and offered the post to the fourth-ranked applicant, a male who was “substantially less qualified and less experienced,” according to the complaint.
The suit alleged Kohl told Fischer there were “too many females on night shift,” and an experienced male was needed on the night shift “to carry the weight.”
Fischer was later hired at the department in January 2015.
The settlement agreement calls on the city to pay Fischer $155,000 within 20 days, covering compensatory and punitive damages, court costs and attorney fees.
Fischer’s start date at the police department will also be amended, for purposes of seniority and benefits, to Sept. 3, 2014, according to the agreement.
The agreement also states that the settlement should not be viewed as any admission of wrongdoing.
“The negotiation and signing of this agreement, does not mean that any party acted wrongfully or unlawfully toward the other party,” the settlement states. “The released parties specifically disclaim any liability to or wrongful acts against Ms. Fischer.”
The agreement goes on to state that “no inference is made that Ms. Fischer is a prevailing, successful, or any such similarly designated, party in this matter.”
City Administrator Brian Knapp said there would be no additional statements about the agreement from the city.
“We’re unable to comment,” he said.
The agreement was obtained by the Leader through an open records request.
A second suit filed against Kohl alleging sexual discrimination is still pending in federal court. The city is also named as a defendant in that suit for its alleged inaction in responding to the issue.
Support services manager Laura Chartraw alleged Kohl began sexually discriminating against her in February 2015, and when she complained to him and to city officials, Kohl retaliated by creating a hostile work environment.
The city has denied the allegations.
That suit, filed a month after Fischer’s last year, is scheduled for a jury trial in September.