By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — A former Inspectional Service Department (ISD) employee is seeking $150,000 from the city, alleging she was forced into early retirement after being bullied by management, The Item has learned.
In a letter to Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy last month, Jane Webber wants her monthly retirement benefits increased from $1,031 to $2,030, or the one-time cash settlement. She retired last year as head clerk after nearly 15 years as a city employee.
“After being berated, mentally beaten down, harassed and bullied by ISD supervisors for many years, my client was forced to retire last summer at age 58,” according to the letter from MariElizabeth McKeon, a Clinton attorney representing Webber.
McKeon said that if Webber had been allowed to work until age 65, her monthly retirement payout would have been nearly $1,000 per month more. If the mayor approves the request, it will cost the city about $300,000.
In the letter, McKeon said the final straw in her client’s retirement came last August when Webber suffered a “severe anxiety attack.”
“In the midst of the attack, one of her supervisors, Michele Desmarais, informed Ms. Webber that if she left, she would be fired … Desmarais told Ms. Webber that she should go sit in her car for an hour and she would be fine.”
Absent a settlement, Webber said she may take her case to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and assert her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act because of alleged discrimination toward her age and hearing disability, the letter said.
McKeon said she has not received a response from the city and declined further comment. Webber did not return a call seeking comment.
Kennedy, ISD and James Lamanna, the city’s attorney declined comment.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.