Lang
9/20/19
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Thursday to approve a settlement agreement with former employee Shanti Sellz.
Sellz’s lawsuit against the county and her former manager, Josh Busard, was pending in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. According to a county news release, the settlement agreement was recommended by Amy Reasner, the attorney for Johnson County’s risk pool carrier. Reasner stated that the many hours needed for preparation and a five-day jury trial set for December 2019 would be a distraction from the county’s business not only for Busard and the board members, but also employees in various departments who would be called to testify.
Sellz was the county’s local food and planning coordinator and claimed that Busard spoke in a loud, aggressive tone and lunged at her when she brought up the subject of flex time off in May of 2017.
She alleged that following that incident, she began experiencing physical and mental stress. The next month, a medical practitioner approved medical leave. She sought more time off from the Family Medical Leave Act after her sick leave expired.
The practitioner filled out the paperwork, and later that day Sellz received a “pre-termination” letter from Busard for excessive use of sick leave and not using proper channels to report sick leave.
Her termination was upheld by the Board of Supervisors that October.
Earlier this year, Sellz voluntarily dismissed the individual board members and three claims from her case.
The settlement agreement states that the county and Busard do not admit to any wrongdoing and that the settlement does not provide compensation for the alleged assault.