Ex-Topeka city manager Stephen Wade demands $100M. City cites 'inappropriate relationship'

Fired Topeka city manager Stephen Wade is demanding $100 million from the city in an apparent wrongful termination claim.

The demand letter, dated Wednesday and a copy of which was obtained by The Capital-Journal, alleges Wade was fired due to a mental health disorder in violation of his contract and state and federal law.

City officials disagree, alleging in a fiercely worded statement that Wade engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.

Stephen Wade demands $100 million, or else he may sue Topeka

The demand letter is a notice of claim from Wade's attorneys, Bryan Smith and Christine Caplinger, of Smith Law Firm, pursuant to a state law requiring filing of a claim prior to filing a lawsuit.

"Every U.S. citizen with a disability has rights and protections afforded by the federal government," Smith said in a statement. "Unfortunately, my client did not receive those considerations while he was employed by the City of Topeka."

The letter states that it was hand-delivered to the city clerk and the nine members of the city council. It comes roughly four months after they fired Wade, who had been on the job for less than 10 months.

"It's an honor to have the opportunity to serve in this role in this place I truly call home," Wade, a Shawnee County native, said when he was hired. "I'm excited to represent our more than 1,000 city employees as we work to collectively make Topeka a better place to live, work and play."

Now, Wade is demanding $100 million, which is more than the entire personnel costs from the city's fiscal year 2024 budget.

Smith called it "just compensation."

"I'll let the public decide what they think of that number," said Spencer Duncan, a city council member.

Those damages are for alleged loss of current and future income, mental anguish, lost benefits and additional medical expenses, loss of professional reputation and future employment opportunities, attorney fees and other associated expenses and loss of goodwill in the community.

What do Stephen Wade's attorneys allege?

In their letter, Wade's attorneys lay out allegations that Wade was fired due to a mental health disorder.

The city was aware of Wade's "mental health disorder and ongoing treatment" when it hired him as city manager on Sept. 13, 2022, the letter states. Wade continued his treatment throughout his employment, and city human resources knew that.

"Claimant's poor mental health was apparent in the last months of his employment with the City," the letter states. "Claimant reached out to senior staff, including the City Attorney, about his poor mental health. Claimant had many communications with the City's Chief DEI officer about his poor mental health, yet was never encouraged to take leave or seek accommodations."

The letter lays out that Wade continued to work despite mental health challenges and a suicide attempt, which later prompted a request for a leave of absence in accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act. The city approved the request, and Wade received inpatient psychiatric services, but he was then put on administrative leave pending an investigation into a human resources complaint against him.

At the time, the public was not given a reason for Wade's absence, which was to last for an "extended" and "undisclosed" amount of time. The city later paid about $34,000 to the law firm that conducted the investigation.

Despite being "ready and willing to perform under the employment agreement after return from his FMLA leave," he was fired July 11, the letter states. Wade found out through a media report and has never received a termination notice from the city, the results of the investigation or any "for cause" reason he was fired without severance payment.

Wade later spoke about his mental health challenges and suicide attempt in an interview with The Capital-Journal. Wade was the newspaper's publisher from 2018 to 2020.

Why does the city say it fired Stephen Wade?

Gretchen Spiker, a city spokesperson, sent this statement about Wade's demand letter.

"To date, the City of Topeka has remained silent as Stephen Wade embarked on a misleading media campaign following his employment termination for cause," she said. "In light of this claim for damages, the city wants the community and its taxpayers to know that it will vigorously defend itself against these false claims. Wade was fired for cause due to his inappropriate relationship with a subordinate which violated both the city’s personnel policy and his own employment contract. The city can confidently say that it did not cause Wade any professional damage. The city looks forward to its day in court and has no further comment at this time."

The city previously hadn't said why it fired Wade.

Smith said Wade "strongly denies any wrongdoing."

Duncan said he hasn't talked with Wade since he took his leave of absence.

"I stand by the decision that we made," Duncan said. "We had solid legal foundation to make that decision, and at this point, we'll wait to see if and when a lawsuit's filed. I will do whatever I am required to do to assist the city in defending that decision."

He declined to go into specifics, noting that he didn't want to cause harm to Wade.

"I really haven't had any conversations with him since, and I've tried to move the city forward," Duncan said.

What comes next for city of Topeka and Stephen Wade?

Under state law, the notice of claim starts a 120-day clock for the city to respond.

During that time, the city could pay the entirety of Wade's demand or otherwise settle the claim.

"We stand hopeful for a resolution that will not tie up valuable time in the federal court system and will allow both parties to move forward," Smith said.

If the city denies the claim or hasn't responded after 120 days, then Wade's attorneys have no less than 90 days to file a lawsuit.

"You know, everybody has a right to go to court," Duncan said. "I am very confident that we were deliberate in our process, took every legal step we were supposed to, took considerable time in the governing body considering this decision, its implications and its impact on everyone involved, and at the end of the day made the decision that we believed was absolutely the right one."

Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Fired Topeka city manager Stephen Wade demands $100 million from city