Former Tamarack superintendent claims retaliatory discharge

A former worker at a Shiloh golf course claims he wrongly lost his job after revealing his mental disability to his employer.

Daniel Laws filed a lawsuit June 3 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Community Sports Inc., doing business as Tamarack Country Club.

In his complaint, Laws claims he was working at Tamarack’s golf course as the superintendent for four years when he lost his job last August. His job loss was related to his mental disorder, according to the complaint.

Laws claims he told his employer, Tamarack’s then-president Kenneth Jay Maurer, of his bi-polar diagnosis in 2011. Maurer went on to tell a board member that he did not want to employ someone with the disability, the suit states. On May 6, 2013, Tamarack board member Sally Jonas told Laws he was discharged with two weeks notice, the complaint says. However, at a May 9, 2013, board member meeting, Tamarack voted not to discharge Laws, but did impose new work rules, which restricted his access to certain portions of the facility and required weekly meetings with the grounds chairman and the general manager, Laws claims.

Laws was eventually brought into the meeting. During that time Maurer told him to see a doctor and that he was dead to Maurer, according to the complaint. In addition, he told Laws he was going to “(expletive) kill” him, according to the complaint. On July 11, Maurer was arrested for his comments following a police report Laws filed against him, the suit states.

Following the meeting, Laws was closely monitored, his judgment was questioned and board members found fault with his work, the suit states.

As the complaints and monitoring continued, Laws decided to file a charge of discrimination against Tamarack with the Illinois Department of Human Right and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming harassment, the complaint says.

On July 31, Laws was suspended. He lost his job Aug. 1, he claims.

In his lawsuit, Laws alleges discrimination, retaliation, common law retaliatory discharge and violations of the Illinois Whistleblower Act against Tamarack.

He seeks a judgment of more than $200,000, plus compensatory damages, reinstatement, attorneys’ fees, costs and other relief the court deems just.

He is being represented by Ferne P. Wolf and Joshua M. Pierson of Sowers and Wolf in St. Louis.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 14-L-469.