Ozark pays $78k to settle discrimination complaint

The City of Ozark will pay its former human resources director $78,000 after she complained of "sexually-based discrimination." The city is settling the case but denies the allegations.

The payment, part of the legal settlement, comes after the Board of Aldermen terminated Cara Borneman's employment in May. Borneman then filed a complaint with the Missouri Human Rights Commission.

Borneman, in a written statement to the News-Leader, said that several city employees had approached her between October 2013 and May, saying Mayor Shane Nelson and Alderman Randy Wright had confronted them with a rumor that Borneman was romantically involved with a superior.

"On May 5th, 2014, I wrote Mayor Nelson an email informing him I knew he and Alderman Wright were discussing the rumor, that it was untrue, and asked that they stop because I found it offensive, damaging to my character, and slanderous because of my position as the City's HR director," Borneman wrote to the News-Leader.

At the next Board of Alderman meeting, the board voted to eliminate her position and hand over her duties to the city clerk. Borneman wrote that no cause was given for the elimination of the position.

Borneman told the News-Leader in an interview that she had a clean personnel file and was more qualified to handle human resources than the individual who took over her duties.

"They have no performance issues (with me). It's clear retaliation to cover up their own behavior," Borneman said.

As she did in her statement, Borneman repeated in the interview that the rumor that Nelson and Wright had allegedly spread about her was untrue.

"It was absolutely sixth-grade girl, ridiculous stuff. The authority of the position has gone to their head and they think they can just bully anyone they want to," Borneman said.

Nelson, asked by the News-Leader if he spread rumors about Borneman, said he did not. He noted that in the agreement the city denied all the allegations and that there was no admission of wrongdoing.

According to David Collignon, city attorney, the city paid out $78,000 — approximately $46,000 to Borneman herself and the rest toward her attorney's fees. Borneman confirmed her salary was about $45,000 a year plus benefits.

The city's insurance will pay for most of the settlement. Collignon said the city's deductible on the claim is $5,000.

According to a copy of the agreement provided by Collignon, Borneman agreed not to apply for any city job for one year following the agreement. The agreement was signed by Borneman Aug. 21.

"This whole thing is just the insurance company trying to settle it with the least expense possible," Nelson said.

As for why Borneman's position was eliminated, Nelson said it was budgetary and that her position has not been refilled. He also said that under the terms of her employment, she could be let go with or without cause. Calls to reach Steve Childers, Ozarks city administrator, for comment for this story were not returned.

In her statement, Borneman said she did not file a lawsuit because a monetary settlement was reached and that she was satisfied with it.

"I loved my job, and I love the city of Ozark. I am not mad at the 'City.' I loved working there. I believe Mayor Nelson and Alderman Wright were the driving force behind my termination, and that is why I named them individually in my Charge of Discrimination," Borneman wrote.

She produced for the News-Leader a copy of a notice from the state Commission on Human Rights confirming she had complained to the commission about the city of Ozark and that her complaint would be investigated. The notice also contains boiler-plate language suggesting parties try to settle the dispute on mutually agreed-upon terms.

Specifics of the complaint, such as names of those who allegedly started rumors, were not documented on any commission paperwork provided to the News-Leader but were contained in Borneman's statement to the News-Leader.

"Ultimately, I felt I had to stick up for myself, and for all women in the workplace that are dealing with these issues. I would encourage everyone to not support these behaviors, and to not support either of them in the future for any elected position in Christian County," Borneman wrote. "We need leaders with better principles than these."

—Reporter Stephen Herzog contributed to this story.