Ex-Bonners employee claims retaliation

BONNERS FERRY — A former city of Bonners Ferry employee has filed a tort claim against the city alleging retaliation and violation of a whistle blower statute.

A claim by Daniel Rice was filed on June 27 by Boundary County attorney Thomas A. Bushnell of the Wilson law firm.

In the claim, Rice alleges he was subject to retaliation by City Administrator Stephen Boorman for reporting wrongdoing by the city administration.

He contends there were violations of Title VII, the civil rights code that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin by requesting that pictures that were racist, sexist and disparaged religion be removed from display in the city’s electric shop.

Rice alleges that his placement on administrative leave and subsequent termination were illegal actions by the city and is seeking damages for $500,000 for retaliation.

The suit says the incidents against him took place from Dec. 30, 2013, and continued until his ultimate firing on April 21, 2014.

Rice claims the retaliation stemmed in part from his reports of OSHA violations to Boorman, and from conversations Rice had with Boorman about Boorman’s practice of favoritism when charging for city work to private persons.

The claim states that after a meeting where Boorman asked the city to purchase the Moyie substation transformer in November 2013, Rice provided data to Bonners Ferry Councilman Rick Alonzo supporting his public statement that the purchase would be a waste of public funds.

Within one week, Rice was given his first ever reprimand from the city, an act of retaliation for crossing Boorman in public, the tort claims.

Rice further states that he was called in for a meeting with Boorman without being informed of the reason or nature of the meeting.

In the meeting, Rice reiterated his concerns over Boorman’s racial, sexual and religious bigotry as well as discriminatory practices, illegal acts, waste, favoritism and how these actions and attitude had made the work place environment unbearable and has destroyed the morale of the electric shop.

According to the claim, Boorman retaliated against Rice by giving him the choice of quitting or going on unpaid leave for six weeks as a result of the meeting. Given the ultimatum, the claim says, Rice chose unpaid leave.

In March, Rice made a demand for his job back with back pay and attorney fees, and several other terms.

Rice entered into a contract with the city which included a provision prohibiting retaliation against Rice for the agreement or events leading up to it. This was breached, the claim says, when Rice’s employment was terminated by letter on April 21.

The tort claim lists Mayor Dave Anderson and City Administrator Stephen Boorman as involved individuals. Witnesses include Anderson and Boorman, Councilman Alonzo, David Sims, Brian Kerns, Steve Neumeyer, Kevin Cossairt and Keith Fairchild.

According to Idaho Code, the city has 90 days from the filing of the claim to respond. If no response has been made within 90 days, the claim shall be deemed to have been denied, the law says.

City Attorney Andrakay Pluid said the claim has been turned over to ICRMP, insurance provider for Idaho’s government entities. ICRMP has retained the services of Peter Erbland, an attorney with Paine Hamblen in Coeur d’Alene.

Due to the ongoing nature of the case and legal restrictions to releasing personnel information, Boorman was unable to comment on the specifics of the case.

“We have a lot of really talented and knowledgeable employees at the city,” he said. “The bigger battle is keeping the teamwork flowing.”

In his 13 years as the city administrator, the position is getting more complex all the time, Boorman said. At larger corporations, professional engineers and management are separated. The City of Bonners Ferry shops include the water, sewer, street and electric departments. There are a lot of multi-talented people wearing a lot of hats.

“When you have a lot of issues, not everyone is going to be happy all the time,” Boorman said. “Technical issues you can solve. People issues are a lot more difficult.”