Unless some sort of settlement agreement is established soon, the Minnesota Senate could receive the type and amount of attention its members would surely rather avoid. And at the heart of the potentially scandalous issue is one wrongful termination lawsuit involving a staff member and any number of state legislatures.
Identified as the defendant in the suit, the state senate contends that it wasn’t required by law to provide a reason for why it dismissed one of its staff members. However, the victim’s suit will move forward and he may have the opportunity to prove the validity of his accusations in court with depositions.
The victim claims that his firing was related to his personal relationship with a former state legislature, even though other senators and staff members maintained similar relationships. As such, he is prepared to use these other affairs as examples of how he was treated unfairly by his employers.
The victim and the defendant will have the opportunity to meet privately to discuss the prospect of settling the case out of court in April. A federal magistrate has declared that depositions will be taken in May if a settlement is not reached. It would be at that point that specific names of legislators allegedly involved in relationships with staff members might be revealed.
Given the sensitive nature of the victim’s allegations, it is expected that the defendant will attempt to reach an agreement with him. The conditions of the settlement would likely be kept confidential if one is reached.
Source: MINNPOST, “Judge orders new steps in Michael Brodkorb case against the Minnesota Senate,” Cyndy Brucado, April 1, 2013