State Appeal Board agrees to settle claims

DES MOINES - The State Appeal Board agreed Monday to pay a $435,000 award to settle claims stemming from a traffic accident involving a state snow plow and $35,000 to settle a discrimination claim brought by a woman who claimed she was not hired by the state in 2005 because of her race.

The three-member panel made up of State Auditor Mary Mosiman, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald and David Roederer, director of the state Department of Management, agreed to pay $435,000 to Larry Van Westen and $10,000 to his wife to settle property damage and personal injuries related to a February 2012 accident near Sioux Rapids.

According to state documents, the accident occurred when an eastbound state Department of Transportation snow plow pulled in front of a van driven by Van Westen southbound on U.S. 71. The collision was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff's Department and the DOT driver was charged with failure to yield upon entering the highway.

Also Monday, the appeal panel approved a $35,000 settlement with Sandra Brown - about half to her and half for attorney fees - to resolve allegations of race discrimination and retaliation she brought against Iowa Workforce Development and the state Department of Administrative Services for failing to hire her in 2005.

According to board records, Brown alleged 'she was not hired or extended an interview because of her race and in retaliation for being listed as a witness in another race discrimination claim” brought against the state. Both state agencies denied the allegations.

Earlier this year, the Iowa Supreme Court reaffirmed a district judge's decision that the state's employment practices were not discriminatory against blacks.

Jeffrey Thompson, the deputy attorney general for litigation for the state, said there were 32 individual cases originally severed from a class action case in 2011. The Brown settlement stems from that, while eight others were dismissed by agreement, 21 remain pending and two have been tried with one on appeal.

In a separate matter Monday, the State Appeal Board agreed to pay $207,566 to settle a discrimination retaliation claim brought by Michael Blomme.