In the past year, Central District Health has paid out nearly $250,000 in settlements to three former employees who had raised concerns about discrimination against Spanish-speaking workers , according to a lawsuit.
Cass Thompson, who worked with customer service representatives, sued the Boise-based public health agency in U.S. District Court earlier this year, alleging agency officials violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and retaliated against her when they fired her after she ran out of family medical leave. She received a payout of $82,500, records obtained by the Idaho Statesman showed.
The settlements, obtained by the Statesman through a public records request, do not include details of the employees’ complaints against the agency. But Thompson’s lawsuit mentioned the two other former employees who received the settlements by name and outlined their involvement in reporting allegations of discrimination.
Martha Alvarez received a settlement of $85,000. She was suspended and placed on a performance improvement plan after she expressed concerns about a directive not to speak Spanish at work unless employees were serving a Spanish-speaking client, according to Thompson’s complaint.