A former Evergreen Public Schools teacher who alleged retaliation by his principal after he brought a “Make America Great Again” hat to a staff-only training reached a settlement of $400,000 in the case.
In December, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Caroline Garrett, then the principal at Wy’east Middle School, violated Eric Dodge’s First Amendment rights by alleging the hat was inappropriate given the setting. The incidents occurred on two occasions just before the start of the 2019-2020 school year, the first of which was during a staff-only cultural sensitivity and racial bias training hosted by a professor from Washington State University.
The settlement was reached on June 22 with the Schools Insurance Association of Washington, a property and liability risk pooling program for school districts with enrollments in excess of 2,000 students, of which Evergreen is a member. The funds were paid for by the association on behalf of Garrett.
The December ruling found no wrongdoing on behalf of Evergreen Public Schools or its human resources director, Jenae Gomes, and neither contributed to the settlement funds. An Evergreen statement shared Friday stressed it wasn’t found responsible in the incident.
“Eric Dodge’s claims against Evergreen Public Schools and Jenae Gomes were previously summarily dismissed by the trial court. Mr. Dodge appealed that dismissal and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of both Evergreen Public Schools and Ms. Gomes,” said a district statement issued Friday. “The settlement Mr. Dodge reached was with former Evergreen Public School employee Caroline Garrett, not with Evergreen Public Schools or Ms. Gomes.”
Dodge’s lawyer expressed approval of the settlement, arguing his client’s speech had been discriminated against.
“My client is very pleased with this result. This case was never about politics; it was about civility and fairness in the workplace,” said Dodge’s attorney, Michael J. Estok. “And that if you are going to allow political speech in the workplace, you can’t limit it to just one viewpoint to the exclusion of all others.”
About the case
Court records indicate that the professor leading the training and other staff present found Dodge’s choice to bring the hat, which he placed on the table in front of him, to be intimidating and suggestive given the context of the training.
Garrett, then the principal at Wy’east Middle School, consulted district human resources on how to speak with Dodge about the concerns expressed to her. Gomes apparently advised Garrett to talk directly with Dodge and “give him a heads-up that he was most likely inadvertently causing distress and give him an opportunity to respond to that.”
Dodge argued that he had worn the hat to protect his scalp from the sun and that he liked its messaging; Garrett said Dodge denied the action was an attempt to “engender some kind of response” from others in the training.
Dodge’s decision to bring the hat to a second training event the next day prompted a greater response from teachers and administrators, including Garrett. The verbal altercation that followed led to a legal battle between the two sides.
The backlash, Estok said, caused Dodge “emotional devastation” and health issues that led to his resignation. Garrett resigned in April 2020.
The December ruling found that Dodge’s actions didn’t create a substantial disturbance to school operations.
“That some may not like the political message being conveyed is par for the course and cannot itself be a basis for finding disruption of a kind that outweighs the speaker’s First Amendment rights,” reads the opinion written by Judge Danielle J. Forrest. “Therefore, Principal Garrett’s asserted administrative interest in preventing disruption among staff did not outweigh plaintiff’s right to free speech.”
