Olmsted County Worker Sues Superiors Over “Race Discrimination”

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Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - A longtime employee of Olmsted County is suing three senior officials, accusing them of age and race discrimination.

The employment-related lawsuit claims they refused to promote the woman and positions she applied for were “given to less experienced, younger, white people.”

The suit was filed on April 11th by Wilhelmina Jacob.

It says she is a 50-year-old African American woman who started her career with Olmsted County in 2002 as a social worker and completed her Master's Degree in 2003.

The lawsuit says throughout her 20 years of service, Jacob has consistently received excellent performance reviews. The lawsuit says Jacob was demoted in September 2021 and as a result, it says she “suffered physical and emotional distress resulting in her need to take medical leave and to seek counseling.”

Jacob also filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department Of Human Rights in 2019:

The lawsuit names County Administrator Heidi Welsch, Deputy Olmsted County Administrator Travis Gransee and Human Resources Director Julian Currie as defendants and seeks compensatory and punitive damages and reimbursement for her legal costs.

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