Janesville School District settles former teacher’s discrimination suit
Wileman, who was fired after she'd tried to file sick time with the school district because of mental illness, will receive a
The district and Wileman reached the agreement
It settles Wileman's claim in a 2017 federal lawsuit that Wileman's firing and the district's refusal to accommodate her mental conditions of anxiety and depression were violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Under the terms of the settlement, Wileman will receive
Wileman is required by the agreement to drop claims the district had violated the Americans With Disabilities Act for firing Wileman after she'd stayed home from work because of anxiety, depression and panic attacks.
She's also never to seek employment in the district.
The agreement indicates the district "specifically denies" the claims in Wileman's 2017 suit, and the agreement isn't an admission of wrongdoing by the district.
The school district issued the following statement by email and declined to comment further:
"The
Wileman's lawsuit claimed she had taught third grade in the district for 17 years and had "positive reviews" before she was transferred in 2012 to teach first grade, a change she claims she didn't request and was not consulted on.
Harrison Principal
Wileman's attorney said Wileman suffered anxiety, depression and panic disorder and had missed work in the past because of medical conditions, but until 2012 she'd never been disciplined for performance problems.
Wileman's suit claimed the performance allegations were based on her disabilities and earlier absences she'd had because of them.
Wileman took time off from
The first leave came after a period during which Wileman said she was denied a full-time classroom aide to help with an "unusual number" of "behaviorally challenging students" in her class, all while she remained under "near constant evaluation and scrutiny" by Grandt-Turke, according to the suit.
During the 2014 leave, Wileman provided the district a letter from a doctor that stated she'd been placed on sick leave after she had a panic attack that required hospitalization and resulted in a nervous breakdown, according to the lawsuit.
The breakdown came after Grandt-Turke spent the fall of 2013 and part of 2014 "harassing" Wileman "and making decisions based on her disabilities rather than her actual performance," along with warnings Wileman received that she could face disciplinary action or dismissal for "continued performance issues," according to the suit.
The school district rejected a
When Wileman did not return to work by a date the district required, she was fired for "job abandonment," according to the lawsuit.
Wileman's attorney had filed two complaints with the state's Equal Rights Division, her attorney said, and the state found that one of the complaints showed "probable cause for discrimination," according to a 2017 Gazette report.
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