Former City of Spokane employee Nancy Goodspeed filed a $1 million lawsuit against the City late Monday afternoon, claiming her rights were violated when she took time off for surgery only to return and find her job filled by someone else.

Goodspeed, the former community affairs coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department, claims in the suit that the City violated the Family Medical Leave Act, various age discrimination laws, as well as other disability laws. She said in the lawsuit that while she was out on medical leave for surgery to treat her Parkinson’s disease, the city gave her job to Monique Cotton.

Cotton was moved from the Spokane Police Department to Parks and Recreation in a communications position after making claims of sexual harassment against former police chief Frank Straub, previous records requests show. Straub later resigned amid complaints from other staffers.

Goodspeed’s lawsuit claims Mayor David Condon publicly disclosed private health information about her when he made statements to the press and others about her health as he announced Cotton’s move.

“This included stating plaintiff was ‘going through a significant medical issue that is chronic’ and justifying the city defendants’ action in providing the plaintiff’s job and duties to Cotton because the city claimed it ‘needed an immediate communications person’ in the position,” reads the lawsuit.

Goodspeed claims the City did not tell Cotton her job would be temporary, and “wrongfully at that time planned on preventing Goodspeed from continuing in her position.”

The lawsuit claims Goodspeed was illegally asked to release her medical records, not allowed to return to full time status, and upon her return to work following surgery, had her job reduced to what she considered to be “an assistant with limited duties and responsibilities.” Goodspeed said she was later discharged from her new role as a result of refusing to submit to “wrongful and invasive” medical exams.

“Through this process, of course it’s hard on her,” said Goodspeed’s lawyer, Kevin Roberts. “She’s had her career taken away from her and all she wanted to do was finish out the end of her career and the city took that from her.”

Cotton resigned from the City of Spokane in February. In January, Goodspeed filed a $1.5 million tort claim against the city and announced her plan to sue. Roberts said the City offered to settle with Goodspeed for $45,000, but that wasn’t enough to make up what she has been through.

“In our tort claim alone, just considering emotional distress damages, the loss of her job and the impact to her and especially considering her health and what she’s been through we requested a million five in the tort claim notice,” said Goodspeed’s lawyer Kevin Roberts in a previous interview. He said they also filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Office.

Roberts said what happened to Goodspeed is similar to what happened to former City employee Liane Carlson, who sued the City and won after being forced out because she had a stroke.

“What we’ve learned is really a pattern with the City when it comes to older employees or employees coming back from medical leave,” he said Monday.

Lawsuit also names City Administrator Theresa Sanders, Human Resources Director Heather Lowe and Occupational Medical Associates.

City of Spokane spokesperson Brian Coddington said they had not yet received the lawsuit, but “it is unlikely that we would comment on pending litigation even if we had received it.”

(© 2016 KREM)