A former Clark County Fire & Rescue employee is suing the department, alleging that she was forced out because she was married to another employee, despite the fact multiple related men have worked at the district without reproach.
The suit filed Monday in Clark County Superior Court seeks damages for Jennifer Yager — following her alleged wrongful termination in 2015 — in an amount to be proven at trial. However, Yager’s attorney Robert S. Milesnick previously stated in a notice for a tort claim that his client is entitled to at least $970,000 in damages.
Yager, 47, was with the district for more than 19 years — starting with Clark County Fire District 11 — and worked as an administrative secretary, administrative assistant, grant writer and district human resources manager. She married Dan Yager, another district employee, in 2000, the suit states.
Despite Jennifer Yager and her husband working together for 15 years as a married couple, District Commissioner Larry Bartel in April 2015 proposed implementing an anti-nepotism policy in order to keep the two from working together, according to the complaint. It was later determined that such a policy would be illegal to enforce retroactively.
In September 2015, Interim Chief Ron Oliver told Jennifer Yager that her position was being eliminated for “financial reasons.” However, a budget presented by the former chief kept Yager on as the district finance and human resources manager, a plan that the board approved, the suit states.
During their meeting, Oliver reportedly told Yager that some union members didn’t like that the Yagers both worked for the district, and Bartel had “tasked him with handling the situation” with the couple, the complaint said.
Yager agreed to take an open senior human resources position, instead, though it came with a pay cut. But days after accepting the job, Oliver told Yager her husband would assume the job of deputy chief for administrative services, making him her supervisor. Therefore, he said, she could no longer work at the district, according to the suit.
The complaint also states there had been about 25 male firefighters related by blood or marriage who worked together in the fire district, without incurring any kind of discipline.
Yager resigned in mid-October 2015, after taking a new job.
The suit contends that the district violated the Washington Law Against Discrimination by unlawfully terminating Yager due to her marital status and because she’s a mother — but allowed multiple men to work with their immediate family members. The district also violated the Washington Consumer Protection Act, the suit alleges, and retaliated against Yager when she accepted the lower-paying job with the district.
Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Dawdy declined to comment on the pending litigation and said it’s in the hands of the district’s attorney.
