The City of Sheboygan has entered into a settlement agreement following a lawsuit filed by its former Human Resources Director.
At the city’s Common Council meeting on Monday (February 3rd), they approved a $150,000 settlement with former HR Director Vick Schneider, mutually agreeing to close the case and prevent further allocation of funds by both parties with additional litigation and potential trial.
Schneider filed the lawsuit on January 17th, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin claiming retaliatory discrimination against the city.
The matter was discussed by the Common Council in a lengthy closed session which was then approved in a 5-3 vote with Alders John Belanger, Joe Heidemann, and Trey Mithcell making up the three nay votes.
However, as part of the settlement agreement, the city denies that they violated the law on any basis.
The Sheboygan Press reports that Schneider filed the lawsuit in response to retaliatory actions taken against her by former City Administrator Todd Wolf.
These actions by Wolf against Schneider came after she raised concerns about sexual harassment allegations within the Sheboygan Police Department and inadequate disciplinary action taken by the department following an internal investigation.
This is the second settlement agreement the city has reached with a former employee in eight months, having reached a $230,000 settlement with Wolf last June.
