The mediation will be utilized to hopefully resolve one of the two lawsuits filed by the former employees of the Village of Milford.

The first claim was initially filed in October 2019 when a former maintenance employee claimed the Village violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and had created a hostile working environment for employees.  Former employee Corey LeMarbe suffers hand tremors but can perform all essential duties of the job.  After being moved to another department, LeMarbe requested a move back because he was unable to handle to duties of the new job.  He was eventually terminated.

LaMar's case was ordered to mediation and a neutral third-party mediator was appointed to oversee the process.  The goal was to reach a mutually agreed-upon resolution and prevent the case from going to litigation.   A status update was scheduled for August 2020.

The second lawsuit filed against the Village is still active and there is the potential trial date scheduled for February 2021. 

That case involves the Village’s former assistant public services director, Michael Esson.  Esson claims violations of the state’s Whistleblower Protection Act, as well as retaliation, extortion, racketeering, freedom of speech issues, and violation of due process.

Esson’s complaint further alleges that he was terminated after letting Village officials know that Public Services Director Robert Calley was approving vacation requests for side jobs in exchange for collection a portion of the earnings.  There was a state police investigation into the allegations that showed the allegations were not credible.

Both Esson and LeMarbe were seeking damages over $75,000.