EAST ST. LOUIS - Chester Mental Health Hospital admission and discharge coordinator Angela Kongeal and the state human services department settled a suit over accommodation of disabilities four days before trial would have begun.
They reported their agreement to Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel on Aug. 15, after mediation by former district judge Patrick Murphy of Marion.
Rosenstengel gave the parties 60 days to finalize the settlement.
Kongeal filed the suit in 2021 as Angela Cowell.
She named the department, administrator Travis Nottmeier, and employees Jessica Lawson and Jaima Klausing as defendants.
Against the state she alleged sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of disabilities from lupus and chronic neck and back pain.
Against the individuals she alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Against the department and the individuals she alleged interference with medical leave benefits.
Rosenstengel granted summary judgment to the individuals in February.
She granted it to the department on harassment and interference with benefits.
Judgment against a claim that the department failed to accommodate Kongeal’s disabilities from lupus and chronic neck and back pain was denied.
Rosenstengel wrote that jurors might find the department should have allowed her to work remotely in 2020 due to deficiency in her immune system from lupus.
She found technology created the ability to meet virtually. She also found that:
Nottmeier testified that coordinating patient care required staff to meet locally but that was the only requirement he outlined.
Kongeal’s job description did not mention coordinating patient care, only coordinating admissions and discharge for the facility.
The department failed to explain why supervision of reports and coordination with the administrator could not occur through virtual means for a temporary period.
Kongeal’s coordination with courts, attorneys, and other facilities already entailed communication by phone, email, and other remote communication methods.
The record indicated that onsite meetings often had a WebEx component.
Rosenstengel also agreed with Kongeal that a genuine question existed as to whether the department failed to modify her schedule once a month for lupus treatment in St. Louis.
She found the department approved one shift starting at 6 a.m. instead of 8 a.m. but gave her the runaround as to why she could not receive it again.
She found the reasons for denial seemed to change each time.
She found she couldn’t say that attendance in person from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. once a month was an essential function of the job.
She found Nottmeier contended that some functions could not be completed from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. but conceded that other tasks could be performed in the early hours.
She also found jurors could determine that Kongeal’s request for a standing desk to relieve pain fell on deaf ears for at least five months.
She found the department offered no reason for the delay and an inference could be made that the department exhibited bad faith.
The state pays Kongeal $12,300 a month according to the comptroller’s website.
Shari Rhode of Carbondale represents Kongeal.
Assistant attorney generals Tara Barnett of Belleville and Christine McClimans, Jesse Gray, and Lisa Cook of Springfield represent the department.