A former Southampton Town deputy clerk has filed a civil rights violation suit against current Town Clerk Sundy Schermeyer and the Town of Southampton.
The suit was filed on August 4 by Erin O’Connell, who was terminated on February 7, 2014, and alleges that she was verbally tormented, harassed, threatened, bullied, manipulated, lied to and retaliated against by Ms. Schermeyer while employed in her office. The suit also alleges that Ms. O’Connell was fired from her post two weeks after filing a human resources complaint against Ms. Schermeyer.
Ms. Schermeyer was not available for comment this week, but Town Attorney Tiffany Scarlato said the suit—which also names current and past members of the Southampton Town Board, the town management services administrator/business management attorney and the town employee benefits supervisor—will be vigorously contested by the town.
“Sundy and the town will be defended to the fullest extent of the law,” Ms. Scarlato said. “The suit is of absolutely no merit.”
Among the claims in the suit, Ms. O’Connell accuses Ms. Schermeyer of lying about vacation policies, denying her unpaid lunch breaks, discriminating against Ms. O’Connell because of her young age, tampering with her human resources file, using abusive language and gestures, and attacking her verbally.
Ms. O’Connell, who is representing herself in the lawsuit, did not return calls seeking comment on Tuesday. She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, including for lost pay since her termination, reinstatement to her position, reinstatement of lost credit to the state retirement fund, and payment for reputation damage and emotional distress.
Ms. O’Connell is also calling for Ms. Schermeyer and Russell Kratoville, who serves as the management services administrator for the town, to undergo a review by the Town Ethics Committee.
Erin McKinley on Sep 1, 2015