John Chiv: Is the City of Eureka trying to delay the depositions of Greg Sparks and Gary Bird in the Jill Schoonmaker case?

Dec 19, 2018

Is the City of Eureka trying to delay the depositions of Greg Sparks and Gary Bird in the Jill Schoonmaker case?

This is the potential litigation that was discussed yesterday during closed session.

If you haven't read my previous coverage on the Jill Schoonmaker vs City of Eureka, here is some background information from the November 29 post.

A 3.2 million settlement offer has been made to the City of Eureka by Ms. Allison Jackson of the Harland Law Firm. The case was taken over by Ms. Jackson in June 2017. Jill Schoonmaker, a former City of Eureka employee, was previously represented by local attorneys, Peter Martin and Shelley Mack.

Schoonmaker worked for the City of Eureka for eleven and a half years. Her employment was terminated in July 2017 after she was given a final notice of disciplinary action signed by Eureka City Manager Greg Sparks.

Alleged violations of disability, age, gender discrimination, failure to prevent and remedy discrimination and retaliation with specifics.

The complaint alleges City Personnel Director Gary Bird disclosed Schoonmaker's bipolar disorder to City Manager Greg Sparks and "belief to other City employees."

Listed below are documents from both the Harland Law Firm snd the attorneys for the City of Eureka regarding the depositions.