Beaver County Commissioners approve settlement with former deputy treasurer

BEAVER – Beaver County Commissioners recently approved a $35,000 settlement with former Deputy Treasurer James Frederick.

Of the amount, $20,000 will be paid by the county’s insurance carrier, while $15,000 will be paid for by the county itself.

According to the original lawsuit complaint, Frederick was employed as deputy treasurer from April 1, 2002, until May 21, 2020.

Frederick has diabetes, and, at the time of the original filing on Oct. 22, 2021, he was 69 years old.

The complaint said when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, Frederick decided to use his accrued sick time to stay home from March 10-31, due to him being considered “high risk.” He was entitled to 10 more emergency paid sick leave days, which he used until April 14, 2020.

He was asked on April 9, 2020, if he would be willing to come into the office after the courthouse closed at 4:30 p.m., in order to get things done. He later went into the office during days in April and early May 2020.

The complaint said Frederick later asked to work remotely from home, with him agreeing to come into the office two days a week to pick up materials while working from home.

The complaint said on May 21, 2020, Frederick was asked to retire, effective immediately, or would be terminated, stating it was not due to the quality of his work, but due to the county wanting to go in a different direction with the treasurer’s office.

He refused, and was fired on May 21, 2020, due to an alleged restructuring of the office, and was replaced a few days later.

The complaint said Frederick believes he was fired due to his disability and that the county refused to accommodate him and discriminated against him, which violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The county, via its attorneys, responded to Frederick’s complaint and accusations on Dec. 21, 2021.

In its response, the county stated it had no knowledge of Frederick’s medical history or diabetes diagnosis and its risk factors.

The response stated that when the pandemic first hit, there were offices and departments, such as the treasurer’s office, which required in-person work, with Frederick being asked to come work in person in order to perform his duties to keep the office operational.

It also stated that even with Frederick working from home, later on, he was not completing the essential tasks required by his position which required in-person work.

The response also denies the county asked Frederick to retire, but said he no longer possessed the qualifications to remain in the deputy treasurer II position, and his employment would be terminated due to office reorganization. The office went down from 13 to nine employees as a result of the reorganization.

The response also stated the county does not believe it violated any ADA guidelines, nor did the county discriminate against Frederick.

The case was referred to mediation on April 27, with a settlement reached on June 20, the case closed on June 28, and the agreement approved by the commissioners during their July 14 meeting.

Nicholas Vercilla is a staff reporter for the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at nvercilla@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Settlement approved with former Beaver County deputy treasurer