A former Orono employee has settled his Maine Human Rights Commission complaint against the town for $110,000, according to an agreement between the two parties.
Avinash Rude, who used to work for Orono, and the town on June 19 reached a mutual settlement agreement and release, which is a contract where both parties agree to settle a dispute and release each other from future claims.
People who believe they have been subjected to unlawful discrimination covered under the Maine Human Rights Act can file a complaint with the commission. Rude also filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.
The settlement does not specify Rude’s former role with Orono, but his LinkedIn page lists his employment as a GIS and IT analyst for the town since September 2015. His employment ended Feb. 13, the agreement said.
The six-figure settlement is a significant amount of money for a small Maine town. It is also the town’s second major settlement of a discrimination complaint in the last seven years. In 2016, former Fire Chief Norman Webb settled his discrimination lawsuit against the town for $250,000. He alleged he was fired by Town Manager Sophie Wilson in June 2012 because of his age, a disability and in retaliation for filing a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission, according to court documents.
The town must pay $110,000 to Rude and Portland-based Maine Employee Rights Group within 30 days of his signing of the agreement, according to the document obtained by the Bangor Daily News.
For Rude, that includes $30,000 for lost wage damages and $28,460 for non-wage compensatory damages. Also included is $51,540 to the Maine Employee Rights Group for attorneys’ fees.
“The agreement contains provisions for confidentiality, and the town is going to respect that,” Matt Tarasevich, Orono’s attorney, said Tuesday. “We’d expect the other party to respect them as well.”
Within the agreement with Rude, Orono “expressly denied liability and admission of liability,” said Tarasevich of law firm Bernstein Shur.
As part of the settlement, Orono’s town manager must provide Rude with a positive letter of reference that has been agreed upon by the two parties. Rude may also request references from other town employees, but they can only provide personal references.
Rude agreed to never seek employment with Orono again, and the town agreed to never offer him a job, according to the document.
The document also includes agreement from both parties to not sue, and to “not make disparaging and false or defamatory statements about each other or the town of Orono with regard to Rude’s employment,” unless necessary by Maine law.
Rude and Lisa Butler of Maine Employee Rights Group, his attorney, declined to comment Tuesday.