Ohio Workers’ Comp Council Settles Lawsuit with Fired Employees

The Ohio Workers' Compensation Council, which drew attention in March when its director fired her entire staff, has settled a legal dispute with those staff members, who accused the director of religious discrimination and wrongful termination. The council will pay $70,103 to the three employees, according to the settlement document filed with the Court of Claims of Ohio.

Virginia McInerney, the director, said she is "really thankful that's behind me," calling it a distraction from the work. McInerney had fired her three staff members, Shadya Y. Yazback, Kim H. Finley and Stephanie Susan Irwin, who then filed a legal complaint. In the settlements, $20,688.81 will be paid to staff attorney Finley, $22,051.50 to Yazback and $12,363 to staff assistant Irwin, along with another $15,000 for legal expenses.

The council, created two years ago and funded through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, is an agency of the legislature, tasked with reviewing workers' comp legislation. The former employees had claimed McInerney fired them for their failure to embrace her attempts to use religion as a management tool. McInerney, who worked for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission before being hired as staff director, has taught seminars at Vineyard Church of Columbus and also wrote a book in 2003, "Singles Not Separate: How to Make the Church a Family" (BestWire, March 9, 2010).

"This agreement is a compromise settlement of disputed claims, the validity, existence or occurrence of which are expressly denied by the OWCC and the director," the settlement said, pointing out it didn't represent any admission of fault.

"I have a 21-year track record of dedicated service and hard work for the general assembly," McInerney said. "I stand on a solid record, not only of achievements but also with respect to my conduct."

She said that since the departure of the three, she has hired a temporary employee, but she is waiting for further staffing instructions now that the settlement is finished.

State Rep. Dan Dodd, a member of the council, has questioned whether the council is even necessary. In an April blog entry on his website, Dodd said, "In this economy, every dollar matters to employers. That is why the Workers' Compensation Council needs to have its funding stripped before more money is wasted."

In 2009, the top five writers of workers' comp in Ohio were Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., with 29.9% market share; Westfield Group, with 20.3%; American International Group Inc., with 17.2%; Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., with 12.9%; and Zurich Financial Services, with 6.2%, according to BestLink, which provides online access to A.M. Best's Global Insurance & Banking Database.

(Jesse A. Hamilton, Washington bureau manager: Jesse.Hamilton@ambest.com)