Mar. 5—ROCHESTER — The director of Olmsted County's Child and Family Services said she sought the best approach to address a social worker's concerns about workplace microaggressions.
"We tried repeatedly to determine what would be supportive," Amy Rauchwarter said of reports made by Olmsted County senior social worker Wilhelmina Jacob. "We just weren't able to get there."
Jacob, who is 52 and Black, filed a lawsuit in 2022, alleging she has faced discrimination and retaliation based on her age, gender and race. The
jury trial in the case started on Feb. 26, 2024.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, but Jacob's attorney has reported plans to present an expert witness, who estimates the economic impact of past decisions at as much as nearly $1.4 million.
Jacob remains employed by the county.
While Jacob outlined a variety of race-based microaggressions in her testimony at the start of the trial, she claimed those issues were not taken to management. The reported microaggressions taken to her supervisor, Melissa Clemens, revolved around professional interactions with a co-worker that led her to not feeling valued.
"I don't recall her saying 'discriminated' in our conversation," Clemens told the jury.
Rauchwarter said multiple options exist for responding, and she wanted to ensure any action matched Jacob's desire for a response without causing her additional workplace conflict.
She said efforts were derailed when Jacob abruptly left meetings with her supervisor, Clemens, and later when she brought an attorney to a September 2021 meeting with supervisors and county human resources staff.
Rauchwarter claimed the presence of Sandra Smalley-Fleming, an attorney from the Minneapolis-based Fredrickson and Byron law firm, brought interruptions that delayed progress.
"She dominated the meeting," Rauchwater said. "It was hard to get a word in."
Smalley-Fleming is now representing Jacob in the discrimination lawsuit against the county.
The jury trial in Olmsted County District Court wrapped up its seventh day on Tuesday.
On Monday and Tuesday, Smalley-Fleming repeatedly claimed nothing was done in response to the complaints, but Rauchwarter disagreed.
The September 2021 meeting was intended to review Jacob's job duties related to a role she was assigned before the COVID pandemic, but the finalization of her job description and related training was delayed by the county's response to the pandemic.
Clemens and Rauchwarter, along with a Human Service manager, also planned to discuss the microaggression concerns during the meeting, but Jacob worried the meeting was intended to discipline or fire her, which is why she asked Smalley-Fleming to join.
Rauchwarter said the opposite was true, stating the goal was to support Jacob in her new role by confirming her duties and outlining opportunities related to her job.
The lack of progress during that meeting and the involvement of an attorney reportedly made Clemens uncomfortable with serving as Jacob's direct supervisor, and Rauchwarter took over as Jacob's supervisor.
"It was a worry that whatever we did would be made to look like it was negative," Rauchwarter said.
Jacob had already filed a 2019 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint, and her 2022 lawsuit would later claim that her job change was a retaliatory action connected to the complaint and an extended leave related to work stress.
Rauchwarter said the changes were intended to build on Jacob's strengths and provide her support amid her workplace concerns.
"My hope was that she would in this new role have the opportunity for a fresh start," Rauchwarter said.
During the trial, Jacob's attorney pointed to at least four other discrimination complaints voiced by other women of color in the department. All four women have since left the department.
The complaints ranged from allegations of unfair treatment based on race to the use of a racial slur in the office.
Rauchwarter said one person complained about being treated differently than her peers, but when the claim was examined it was discovered the added supervision was due to the "fairly new" employee struggling with job requirements. County Human Resources Director Julian Currie said conversations with the employee indicated it was a job-performance issue and a confidential separation agreement was reached. The employee didn't make a discrimination complaint after the circumstances were explained.
Another social worker complained about how her supervisor was treating her, and Rauchwarter said the team's manager, John Edmonds, stepped in to discuss the concerns and start on a path toward understanding. Edmonds testified earlier in the trial that common ground was being found, but the worker who lodged the complaint eventually decided to move to be closer to family.
A third complaint was filed by Zukiswa Mpande-Olson, who was the only one of the four former employees to testify. She sent an email on her last day, letting leadership know social workers throughout the department have raised concerns about racial discrimination.
Rauchwarter and Edmonds acknowledged receiving the email, but said it lacked specific references that would be needed to address the allegations.
In 2022, another complaint alleged a social worker used a racial slur in the office.
Rauchwarter said the word was used while quoting a client. The social worker who used the slur was put on leave and never returned. The social worker who lodged the complaint met with human resources and Rauchwarter, yielding steps that could be taken to improve the culture of the office.
Rauchwarter said steps were taken to implement some changes, but the social worker opted to find a new job.
"There was a lot of effort to see if there was something we could do to motivate her to stay," she told the jury.
In addition to struggles with the workplace culture, Jacob also told the jury she believes discrimination and retaliation were involved in decisions not to promote her to a leadership role in the county.
The lawsuit involves three applications, two within the Child and Family Services Department and a third seeking to head the county's Diversity, Equity, and Community Outreach team.
Jacob said she believes her age and race played a part in Rauchwater's decision to hire two supervisors who were younger and white for the Child and Family Services positions. She said she believes she is more qualified than either woman hired.
Rauchwater denies the claims and said Jessica Lee, who was hired for a Child Protection supervisor position in 2017, held a master's degree similar to Jacob's. Both applicants had experience working as a senior social worker in Child Protection, but Lee's was more recent
She said Melissa Clemens, who was hired in 2019 as a program manager position in Youth Behavior Health, didn't have a master's degree, but had years of experience in the department. Jacob had limited experience in the department.
The department director said both successful candidates offered real-world examples of how they would work in the open positions, while Jacob appeared to have knowledge regarding the work, but didn't provide specific examples.
"That made it difficult for me to feel confident or know how it would look in a management role," Rauchwarter said.
The Diversity, Equity, and Community Outreach team is part of the county's corrections department, with former director Travis Gransee making the hiring decision in 2021. Gransee, who is now a deputy county administrator, is set to testify later in the trial.
On Tuesday, Currie said he took part in the related interview panel and thought Jacob provided good answers but struggled with questions about corrections work. He said Nikki Niles, a corrections employee with law enforcement service, was recommended by the interview panel and eventually hired. Niles is a Black woman over the age of 40.
The trial is scheduled to wrap up by the end of the week. Several added county employees are slated to take the witness stand.
