A city employee will receive $95,000 to settle claims against Municipal Court Clerk Reginald Thompson and the Columbus Consolidated Government.
Columbus Council unanimously approved the settlement during its Oct. 22 meeting . At the end of the four-hour meeting, the council emerged at 10:27 p.m. from a 39-minute closed session to discuss matters of personnel, litigation and real estate, as requested by City Attorney Clifton Fay.
The council didn’t publicly discuss the matter, and the specifics of the settlement weren’t mentioned before the vote. But a copy of the resolution the Ledger-Enquirer obtained from the Clerk of Columbus Council office shows Alicia Wells-Lewis, an employee of the court, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging Thompson and CCG violated her federal rights.
The specific alleged rights violations weren’t shared in the resolution. The Ledger-Enquirer has requested that information from the city attorney’s office and the EEOC’s regional office in Atlanta.