Olmsted County social worker's $8.2 million discrimination claim goes to the jury

ROCHESTER — A nine-member jury started deliberating on an Olmsted County social worker’s $8.2 million discrimination claim Friday afternoon.

Wilhelmina Jacob, a senior social worker with more than two decades of experience in Child and Family Services, filed a lawsuit in 2022 claiming she has suffered years of adverse employment impacts and work stress due to discrimination and retaliation from past complaints and reports of microaggressions.

“That escalated to the point she feared being terminated,” Sandra Smalley-Fleming, an attorney from the Minneapolis-based Fredrickson and Byron law firm, told the jury during two hours of closing comments Friday afternoon. She is representing Jacob.

Smalley-Fleming wrapped up the comments by putting a full dollar amount on the claims for the first time in the two-week trial.

At least $1.37 million is being sought for emotional stress and medical expenses related to alleged discrimination and nearly the same amount is being sought for past and future economic impacts based on not receiving a promotion in 2017 to a Child Protection supervisor position.

The job went to a younger white woman, and Smalley-Fleming cited it as the first adverse job impact in the case.

With a combined $2.74 million sought for emotional and financial damages, Jacob is also asking the jury to triple the amount, which is allowed under state law if the jury determines the county is responsible for unfair discriminatory practice.

The county has denied any wrongdoing throughout the trial, emphasizing its efforts aimed at supporting Jacob when she reported concerns to supervisors or human resources.

“The county heard Ms. Jacob, it supported her, and it worked to find solutions,” said Jenny Gassman-Pines of the Minneapolis-based Greene Espel law firm, which represented the county in the trial.

During her 80-minute closing comments, she told the jury that several members of county leadership, from Jacob’s immediate supervisors to County Administrator Heidi Welsch, sought to support Jacob, and pointed out the concerns reported weren’t based on age, race or gender discrimination.

A key example of microaggressions reported to supervisors by Jacob was after another social worker appeared to assign her a case, which is the job of a supervisor. Jacob said the episode was demeaning.

Melissa Clemens, Jacob’s former supervisor in Youth Behavior Health, said the social worker wasn’t attempting to assign the case. Rather, she said it was mentioned that the case would be a good fit for Jacob.

Smalley-Fleming told the jury such claims were an effort to explain away a problematic work environment, in which Jacob couldn’t receive true support when she voiced concerns.

“The solutions that were given to Ms. Jacob always resulted in a move and reductions in leadership opportunity,” Smalley-Fleming said, pointing to an unwanted job move in 2019 and a supervisory change in 2021 that had her meeting regularly with Child and Family Service Director Amy Rauchwarter and a human services representative.

While Jacob cited other race-based microaggressions, including comments about her hair and race, during the trial, she said she did not report those to her supervisors or human resources.

Smalley-Fleming said the work environment led to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and racial trauma that resulted in the emotional distress claim.

The economic impact claim stems from Felix Freidt, an associate professor of economics at Macalester College, who also served as an expert witness. Freidt was hired by Jacob’s attorneys to estimate how her income would have changed if she had received the 2017 promotion.

He was also asked to factor in a proposed second promotion to department director in 2020.

The result was an estimate of $193,000 in lost past revenue and $771,000 in lost future revenue, if Jacob worked to age 67. Another estimated $401,000 would be lost in pension income.

He said the estimates were generated by looking at pay raises received by two women who were promoted to jobs Jacobs sought, as well as factoring in her history of positive performance reviews and related pay raises.

Anna Reding, a certified public accountant and director at Minneapolis-based Financial Advisors, said the estimate is too high.

Reding was hired by the firm representing the county to review Freidt’s report and said it miscalculates the potential pay increase connected to a promotion and shouldn’t have assumed the second promotion, since there wasn’t a director opening in Child and Family Services in 2020.

Gassman-Pines is arguing that Jacob isn’t owed anything because she can’t prove any actions taken by county supervisors were based on age, race or gender discrimination, and none were retaliation for related complaints. However, she did ask Reding to give the jury her estimate of damages, if discrimination is found.

Reding estimated the economic impact in a range from $252,807 to $230,907, based on two promotions Jacob sought and did not get, the one in 2017 and another in 2020.

The jury is initially tasked with determining whether Jacob faced workplace discrimination or retaliation. If it does confirm the claim, the members must determine whether a claim dating back to 2017 is allowed under circumstances that would extend the one-year statute of limitations.

If the jury determines damages are allowed, it will have the opportunity to set how much, followed by whether they should be multiplied by a number up to 3.

Jurors started deliberations at approximately 5 p.m. Friday, but less than an hour later decided to break until 8:30 a.m. Monday.