In another settlement, Wilmington must pay $625K

A Wilmington risk manager who hasn't worked in over three years but has been receiving full pay and benefits will get over $625,000 from the city in exchange for her permanent termination, according to an agreement obtained by The News Journal.

Genevieve Hinkle sued the city in federal district court in 2014 after she was fired, claiming that she was discriminated against on the basis of being an older white woman, court records show. Hinkle, who was 61 when she filed the lawsuit, also claims she was wrongfully tied to a case of internal theft by one of her subordinates in 2013, court records state.

Hinkle was still receiving a roughly $80,000 annual paycheck until December, when she and the city settled her lawsuit. Her settlement entitles her to $172,000 in benefits commutation, 34 days of accrued leave and a $453,000 lump sum for her, her husband and her legal team.

In exchange, Hinkle retired on Dec. 31 and agreed not to sue again or pursue further employment with the city.

Since Hinkle stopped working, the risk manager job has been filled by lawyer James Robb on a part-time basis, the city said. He has made an average of $43,891 per year. With Hinkle's case closed, a permanent position is now open and is expected to be filled in the coming months.

The loss of her job caused Hinkle "past, present and future loss of income" and "severe mental and emotional distress" and related physical ailments, her lawsuit said. Her legal complaint also claimed the city's conduct caused her husband Louis Hinkle, a New Castle county legislative aide, to have a heart attack and to lose the "care, comfort, companionship, society and consortium of his wife."

City Councilwoman Loretta Walsh said she was "stunned" to learn of the settlement. She said officials outside settlement negotiation rooms are often left in the dark.

"There's too much information coming out that has not been shared with City Council or the residents of the city of Wilmington," said Walsh, who did not chair the committee last year. "This is their money being dealt away."

Hinkle's position, director of risk management and employee benefits, is the same once held by Gary Hutt, who also fought the city when he was terminated. His settlement with the city, signed in 2006, entitles him to monthly payments of $2,300 for the rest of his life. When Hutt's deal was made public by The News Journal last week, Purzycki said Wilmington has "a culture of surrender in too many of these cases to either save legal fees or avoid political embarrassment."

Regarding Hinkle, the mayor's office couldn't comment directly. Hinkle's settlement requires that if Hinkle or the city are asked about the case, they will state that "the matter has been confidentially resolved" and will make no other comment.

"Separate and apart from this specific case, the Purzycki administration will apply the highest level of scrutiny and will vigorously defend the city on all matters including employment matters," said John Rago, the mayor's deputy chief of staff for policy and communications.

"We elect a mayor to represent the people, not his or her appointees," she said. "A settlement like this should not be signed only by appointees."

Hinkle was hired by the city in 2007, according to the lawsuit. She was fired in August 2013 after a clerk, Donnae Park, was found to have embezzled over $30,000 from the city. Hinkle's lawsuit states that Park's supervisors, who are African-American, male and younger than her were not terminated, constituting discrimination, and that the city did not follow the proper grievance process in firing her. She also names then-Human Resources Director Jacqueline Jenkins and City Auditor Earl Jeter in the case, alleging he "manufactur(ed) an Auditor's Report which purports to set out a valid basis for terminating Plaintiff's employment," her complaint states.

Walsh questioned why Hinkle's settlement, signed while Mayor Dennis P. Williams was in office, did not include signatures from the mayor or then City Solicitor Mike Migliore. The signees were Hinkle; her husband; Jenkins; Jeter; and Williams' chief of staff, Gary Fullman, who now works for City Council.

STORY: Two paychecks for one Wilmington job

In October 2013, a city board recommended disciplinary action, a five-month suspension, her lawsuit states. In December, she filed charges of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Delaware Department of Labor, her lawsuit states.

That month, the city told Hinkle it would resume paying her but ordered her not to return to work pending an audit of risk management, the lawsuit states. The refusal to reinstate her prevented Hinkle from "any possibility of advancement or promotion and (stifled) her growth as a professional," her lawsuit states.

The city claims it offered Hinkle her job back in August 2014 but that she declined "claiming she is totally disabled and suffers from depression in connection with the fact that, although she received full pay and benefits effective Feb. 3, 2014, she was not reinstated to active duty," the city legal response states. "Hinkle claims it would be too traumatic to work with the individuals she worked with previously."

The city added in a lawsuit answer that Hinkle was offered a program coordinator position in the Real Estate and Housing Department, where she would likely not have contact with her former colleagues. However, "she declined that position, claiming she is disabled," the city stated.

Hinkle was placed on payroll with benefits equivalent to what she was making previously, according to the lawsuit. She made $83,286 in 2015 and got a raise the following year, making $84,119 because of a cost-of-living adjustment for city employees.

Victor Battaglia Sr., Hinkle's lawyer, declined to comment citing the confidentiality clause.

Contact Christina Jedra at 302 324-2837, cjedra@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.