Settlement reached in Fallen Leaf Lake firing case
When the Fallen Leaf Lake Community Services District board meets Sept. 1, the settlement agreement with former General Manager Tom Barnes is expected to be ratified.
Barnes had sued the district for wrongful termination after being fired in 2010. He had asked for unpaid leave while he received treatment for cancer. He was denied that request and subsequently fired.
Tom Barnes
The settlement is for $280,000.
“All I can say is that the civil action was settled and because of the settlement there cannot be any appeal. The district has insurance that will pay the settlement and at this time, prior to the board meeting scheduled to approve the settlement, it is premature to comment,” Tom Bacchetti, president of the Fallen Leaf Lake board told Lake Tahoe News.
Jacqueline Mittelstadt, Barnes’ attorney, declined to comment and said her client did not want to comment either.
— Kathryn Reed
right on, trb. the csd got off cheap.
Another CRACKPOT BOARD !
To terminate someone for needing time off for medical treatment is shameful! Tthe CSD Board should remember “what goes around, comes around”.
They forgot to mention that the real reason they fired him was because he was reporting boating violations even though he the hypocrite had building code violations himself! So why didn’t FL report this? Probably because they too have violations.
Beware of Yuppies
I don’t think you have a complete grasp of the situation. Jennifer Hall-Thorton fired Tom after he requested an unpaid leave of absence to attend cancer treatment. Jennifer had threatened to fire Tom on several occasions in the past because Tom was documenting issues with the previous concessionaire (Fallen Leaf Landing). There were many people in the community including Jennifer that were upset that Tom’s reports included these truths. When the board met on Labor Day after Jennifer had fired Tom, they unanimously voted to Fire Tom even though he had never been written up for anything.
During my time on the board and as the President of the board Tom Barnes had never received any disciplinary action or comments from the board regarding his performance. His firing was purely vindictive and unnecessary. Jennifer’s and the board’s actions regarding Tom’s firing were uncalled for and extremely unethical to say the least.
Although Tom did receive a settlement for his wrongful termination, in the process of this saga Tom was forced to sell his home at Fallen Leaf Lake because of financial problems directly linked to his firing. There is no amount of money that can make this right to a real Fallen Leafer.
Well as it turns out, the board President Tom Bachetti is not willing to sign the agreement. A check has been cut from the insurance company to Tom Barnes for the settlement and is being held in Tom Barnes attorneys account (not cashed). The check will not be cashed until the board signs the agreement accepting the terms within.
See below:
— On Wed, 8/29/12, bacchetti.net wrote:
From: bacchetti.net
Subject: Re: September 1, 2012 FLLCSD Meeting Agenda and Board Packet now available
To: “Mike Kraft”
Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 4:30 PM
Because it is unnecessary to do so. The matter is settled. End of discussion.
Sent from my iPhone from Wherever I Happen To Be.
On Aug 29, 2012, at 3:34 PM, Mike Kraft wrote:
Tom,
It’s is not all about the money, it’s about the agreement and the execution of it. The agreement clearly states that the CSD Board will approve it. If they do not approve it, the agreement is not met. If the CSD does not sign the agreement than it is not approved, the attorney approved the agreement in form only.
This is basic contract stuff, contracts are written to represent the terms of the agreement then the contract is signed to bind the agreement betwwen the parties involved. No one has authorized the agreement, only the form or content of the agreement. For the life oif me I do not understand why the CSD will not meet in public and sign the agreement, can you tell me why?
MK
wow – what an arrogant response from bachetti. Glad He does not head up anything I am connectted with.