SEYMOUR — The Seymour Board of Education voted on June 20 to pay $35,000 to the school district’s former facilities manager in order to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Joseph Falzone had filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the school district and the town claiming he was forced out after former business manager Rick Belden and former associate superintendent Vonda Tencza found him asleep at his desk in August 2018.
Falzone said he suffered from sleep apnea, a medical condition that affects sleep and prevents the body from getting enough oxygen, according to his lawsuit.
Falzone’s lawsuit states that he was called into a meeting with then-Superintendent Michael Wilson, and that he repeated the fact he has sleep apnea.
“At or around this point, Mr. Wilson became dismissive of plaintiff,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. Wilson said during the meeting that his brother-in-law and friends have sleep apnea, yet they have never fallen asleep on the job, or words to that effect.”
Falzone said the school district gave him two options: resign or be fired.
Falzone opted to resign.
His lawsuit stated the district’s action violated state law protecting people with disabilities from being fired because of their disabilities.
The lawsuit also said Falzone received a favorable employee evaluation in Aug. 2018.
He sued both the town and the school district because his position was considered shared, according to the lawsuit.
The school and town filed court documents denying the allegations.
After more than 50 court filings between 2019 and February 2023, the two sides worked out an out of court settlement deal that was voted upon at a school board meeting June 20.
The document isn’t an admission of guilt by the defendants, but an agreement designed to end the civil court proceeding with a $35,000 payout. The settlement states the money is being paid by the town, the school district, and two insurance companies.
Falzone and his lawyer declined comment for this story.
“The matter has settled to the mutual satisfaction of the parties,” Richard J. Buturla, the lawyer representing the defendants, said in an email to The Valley Indy.
The settlement was unanimously approved after a brief discussion.
Several school officials, including Board of Education Chairman Chris Champagne and Superintendent of Schools Susan Compton, said they were kept “out of the loop” with regard to the settlement.
“We were very much kept out of the loop until our attorney let us know we had to vote on it,” Champagne told the Valley Indy after the meeting.
School board member Jay Hatfield expressed concern about having to vote on something that the board had little to no involvement in.
“We really were not involved or informed about this situation until it was settled,” Hatfield said at the meeting. “It’s important that the community knows this wasn’t in our hands.”
Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis said she was not aware of the settlement.
