Arkansas Treasurer Settles Civil Rights/Disability Lawsuit

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Arkansas Treasurer Settles Ex-Employee’s Civil Rights/Disability Lawsuit

Arkansas’ treasurer has settled a federal lawsuit filed against him by a former employee when he served as the Saline County clerk.

An attorney for Republican Treasurer Dennis Milligan said his client reached a $30,000 settlement with Marilyn McDaniel. McDaniel claimed she was fired from her position as an assistant in the clerk’s office because of her disability and in retaliation for a complaint she had filed.

McDaniel has narcolepsy, a neurological disorder that makes sleep difficult to control and can result in sudden bouts of sleep during daytime hours, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Milligan fired the part-time employee in December 2011 after she’d been employed for about a year.

McDaniel sued in December 2012, accusing Milligan of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Arkansas Civil Rights Act. McDaniel argued that Milligan’s office refused to accommodate her special needs and then fired her for asking for the accommodation.

Milligan argued he could not have violated her rights because he was never told about her narcolepsy and was never asked to accommodate it. He argued McDaniel was fired for poor performance and insubordination.

The former county clerk was successful in removing himself as an individual from the case but lost his motion for summary judgment against him in his official capacity.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker of the Eastern District of Arkansas denied Milligan’s attempt to have the case thrown out on jurisdictional grounds. The parties met the next day and agreed to the settlement.

Milligan’s attorney, David Fuqua, said the case was to go to trial on June 1 but will be closed once both sides complete their dismissal paperwork.

McDaniel’s attorney, Luther Sutter, confirmed that the sides had agreed to a settlement.