IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - The former chief administrative law judge at Iowa Workforce Development says he’s pleased to settle a long-running lawsuit alleging that his 2013 layoff was retaliatory and unlawful.
Joseph Walsh said the $99,000 payment recently approved by the state to settle his lawsuit could have been higher had he not been able to return to state employment shortly after his termination.
Iowa Workforce Development eliminated Walsh’s job shortly after he opposed an attempt to make his position a political appointment. Walsh contended, correctly, that federal law required his position to be merit-based.
The agency’s then-director Teresa Wahlert withdrew that reclassification but abruptly laid Walsh off weeks later.
The agency claimed that Walsh’s termination was for budget reasons, but Walsh said that was an excuse concocted to cover for retaliation. He says he loved his job and had excellent performance.
Walsh was rehired months later as a deputy workers’ compensation commissioner, which he said mitigated his damages and enabled a settlement “without too much damage” to taxpayers. He says he’s a proud civil servant and wants to focus on the future, not the “mismanagement and illegal personnel actions of the past.”
A state memo says the case was settled, in part, due to the “potential exposure” taxpayers faced.
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