County commission and library board settle with former library director for $700K

According to a settlement agreement provided to the News Record, the commission and the library board settled with Lesley for $700,000.

The settlement agreement “is not to be construed as an admission of liability by any party,” according to the court document.

Lesley was fired from her position as library director on July 28, 2023, a little more than two years after she and library staff were criticized by some residents and elected officials for allowing sexual education and LGBTQ books in the children’s and teen sections.

In September 2023, Lesley filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Sept. 27, 2023, against the Campbell County Commission and the Campbell County Public Library Board, alleging her employers discriminated and retaliated against her because of her support of the LGBTQ+ community.

In February of this year, Lesley received a notice of right to sue, which enabled her to bring her claims to federal court.

“It’s been a long haul, it’s been stressful,” Lesley told the News Record Wednesday afternoon. “It feels good to move past it, and to have stood up for intellectual freedom and the right to read, and for all citizens to have that right.”

Lesley sued Campbell County, the Campbell County Commission and the Campbell County Public Library Board, as well as former commissioners Del Shelstad and Colleen Faber, current library board members Sage Bear, Charles Butler and Chelsie Collier and former library board member Darcie Lyon in their individual capacities.

Her complaint alleged that the commissioners and library board members acted with “malice or reckless disregard” for her federally protected rights, and “their actions not only devastated Ms. Lesley professionally and personally, but also undermined the very mission of (the library) and inflicted harm on the broader community. For this, they must be held responsible.”

Lesley alleged that they continually subjected her to “a hostile work environment” and fired her “because she refused to remove the books that a narrow subset of residents challenged for their LGBTQ+ themes.”

“(They) were overwhelmingly hostile and harassing towards Ms. Lesley and her protected activities, encouraged others to be so as well, and ultimately terminated Ms. Lesley’s employment,” the complaint reads.

Lesley’s attorney, Iris Halpern, said Wednesday that she hopes this sends the message that “elected and appointed officials need to represent the interest of their entire community, not just a small band of activists.”

“It is really important to remember the ideals of America,” she said. “We do not discriminate, we believe in the First Amendment.”

As part of the settlement, Lesley shall dismiss the lawsuit.

There is another lawsuit, where Lesley sued Hugh and Susan Bennett, as well as their son Kevin Bennett, for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, abuse of process, civil conspiracy, conspiracy to deprive Lesley of her civil rights and conspiracy to prevent her from performing her duties.

This suit is currently in the deposition and discovery phase, Halpern said.

The claims

Lesley had brought forward 10 claims for relief. Three of them were under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 including association, advocacy, and retaliation (including anticipatory retaliation), on the basis of sex.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. It also “protects individuals who, though not members of a protected class, are victims of discriminatory animus toward (protected) third persons with whom the individuals associate.”

Lesley claimed that she was discriminated against because of her association with and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.

Three more claims alleged that the commissioners and library board violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which protects people who oppose discriminatory practices against, advocate on behalf of, and associate with protected classes.

“Shelstad, Faber, Bear, Butler, Collier and Lyon were an affirmative link and a causal connection to the discrimination, retaliation, and anticipatory retaliation carried out by the final policymakers,” the complaint reads.

The seventh and eighth claims for relief had to do with the First Amendment. They argued that as a public employee, Lesley could not suppress the First Amendment rights of library users “by censoring books based on disfavored content or their association with historically marginalized minority groups.”

They also alleged that the commissioners and library board participated in “viewpoint discrimination and retaliation,” meaning they engaged in “censorship based on their disagreement with the content of Ms. Lesley’s protected speech and association.”

The ninth claim alleged conspiracy under the Ku Klux Klan Act. This claim is against the individual defendants. Lesley alleged that the commissioners and library board members “plotted, coordinated, and executed a common plan with each other to engage in discrimination, retaliation, obstruction, intimidation, and threats against LGBTQ+ community members.”

The 10th claim brings in the First Amendment Establishment Clause, which prohibits governments from favoring one religion over another. Lesley accused the commissioners and library board of trying to shape the library’s collection of books “in a way that that endorsed or favored one denomination of Christianity over other Christian denominations, other religious beliefs, and/or over non-religious beliefs.”