Polk County’s clerk of courts is suing the state of Iowa, alleging that she was denied a promotion because of her age and then was the victim of retaliation when she complained.
Anne Sheeley has served as clerk of courts since 2017, according to her complaint, overseeing a staff of more than 80 employees responsible for court operations in Polk County, Iowa’s most populous. Prior to that, she held positions with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and the Fifth Judicial District, which includes Polk County, with more than 20 combined years working in court administration.
Age discrimination in 2024 hire
In 2024, she writes, the state posted a vacancy for the Fifth District Court administrator, and Sheeley, who previously worked as deputy administrator, applied. In her interview, she alleges, she was asked why she was interested in changing positions “at this point in her career.” The complaint notes Sheeley was born in 1968, making her 56 or 57 at the time she applied for the district administrator role.
Sheeley was not hired, despite being later told by Chief Judge Michael Hubbert that she impressed the committee and gave an “outstanding” interview, she claims. Instead, the state hired a younger and, she alleges, much less qualified candidate who had less than five years in court administration and less than one year’s experience in management, with a single employee…