Springfield school secretary alleges age discrimination, sues district

A Springfield Public Schools secretary has sued the district, alleging she has been repeatedly discriminated against because of her age.

Lynn Neff, 60, alleged in the lawsuit that the district attempted to fire her because it "wanted younger employees working for SPS and in the curriculum department."

The suit also alleges that after Neff successfully fought the attempted termination — winning an appeal to the school board — the district engaged in petty retaliation such as shrinking her work space, swapping her new computer for an old one, limiting access to supplies, and requiring her to count pencils and sticky notes.

Filed in Greene County Circuit Court in mid-February, the suit names the district and "employers" John Jungmann, the superintendent, and Allison Pilley, director of learning support. Pilley oversees the curriculum department where Neff still works as a secretary.

Neff has worked for the district since 2002 and currently makes $36,238 a year. The suit seeks attorney fees and unspecified punitive damages for "pain, suffering, humiliation and deprivation of rights." It also asks for a court order to stop the alleged discrimination.

The district, through spokeswoman Teresa Bledsoe, issued a statement denying the allegations.

"Any time there is pending litigation, our practice is to refrain from commenting publicly on the case until it is resolved," Bledsoe wrote. "However, the pleadings the district has filed with the court do outline our initial response to the case so I can confirm that SPS denies all allegations of age discrimination outlined in the lawsuit filed by Ms. Neff."

Attorney Todd Johnson represents Jungmann, Pilley and the district and filed a response on behalf of each one. The responses repeatedly deny Neff's claims and say the district acted in "good faith" toward the employee.

The district, in its response, alleges Neff did not file her charge of discrimination in a timely manner and it ought to be dismissed. The district also asks for Neff to cover the district's attorney fees.

The suit has been assigned to Judge Mark Powell. No trial date has yet been scheduled.

Attorney Nathan Duncan, who is based in Bolivar, represents Neff and said she will not give interviews while this case plays out. Asked about the case, he referred the News-Leader to court documents.

The suit alleges that in March 2015, Parker McKenna, former chief human resources officer, informed Neff that her employment would end at the conclusion of the fiscal year — June 30, 2015.

Neff alleged, in the suit, that another employee in the curriculum department "also approximately 60 years old at the time" was also fired at the same time. The other employee is not named or a party to the suit.

According to the suit, Neff filed a grievance over the planned termination with the superintendent, but Jungmann "promptly" upheld the firing. Neff appealed his decision to the school board.

Following a hearing, the board overturned Jungmann's decision and allowed Neff to keep her job. She still works as a secretary in the department of curriculum, or learning support, which is located in the Tefft building.

Neff alleged that following her successful appeal, the district retaliated against her in numerous ways. She said she was moved to a "small desk in a smaller work area" and provided with an old computer and an "old monitor, a wired mouse and a wired keyboard."

The suit alleges that before the appeal, Neff had a three-piece desk, a new computer with a pair of 21-inch monitors, a printer, a shredder, an electric pencil sharpener, two file cabinets, a four-tier shelf, an electric three-hole punch and "all of the supplies she needed."

Neff also alleges that her job duties changed, going from "important, independent" work to "mundane, repetitive" tasks. For example, she alleges that her employers required her to record the number of books a school took or returned from the district warehouse and count pencils, markers and sticky notes.

According to the suit, Neff applied for other positions within the district. She alleges she wasn't permitted to interview for most of the jobs and has been denied other open positions.

She also alleges she was denied a promotion "even though she was more qualified for the position than other applicants."

Neff alleged she was repeatedly reprimanded for conduct that "did not merit discipline" while other employees who engaged in the same conduct were not reprimanded.

Finally, Neff said she was placed on administrative leave after others, who were not named in the suit, reportedly told human resources that they were concerned Neff would cause them physical harm. She alleges those were "false reports."

The suit alleges that during a meeting with McKenna, he told Neff: "You wanted a grievance, you got a grievance, and since you won the grievance, you will never leave the curriculum department."

The district, in its response, stated "employment decisions and actions" in regard to Neff were taken for "legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons and in good faith."

Court documents indicate Neff brought her discrimination complaints to the Missouri Commission of Human Rights in September. The commission studied the claim, but Neff chose to file a lawsuit rather than follow that process through to the end.