Wikimedia Commons
Derby City Hall (Wikimedia photo)
DERBY – The city’s human resources director is suing Derby because elected officials reduced her annual salary by more than $19,000, according to court documents.
The move was unconstitutional, a breach of contract, and displayed an “arrogance of power,” according to a federal complaint filed by Shelton attorney Thomas W. Bucci on behalf of Derby Human Resources Director Katherine Christopher.
The lawsuit asks the court to force the City of Derby to honor Christopher’s employment contract, allocate back pay, award compensatory damages, and to cover her attorney fees. A specific dollar amount is not stated.
The lawsuit was filed July 5. The city has yet to submit a response.
Derby Mayor Joseph DiMartino is on vacation. Linda Fusco, his chief of staff, declined comment on behalf of the administration on Monday (July 15).
The lawsuit lays out a timeline that tracks the creation of the human resources position and Christopher’s employment in Derby. She is the city’s first human resources director.
The lawsuit states that the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen (BOA/A) approved a job description for the position on Aug. 11, 2022, while Mayor Rich Dziekan was in office.
The lawsuit states Christopher was hired on Aug. 29, 2022.
In December 2022, the Aldermen & Alderwomen set the position’s pay at $49 per hour for eight hours a week.
On April 10, 2023, former Mayor Dziekan gave Christopher an employment contract that made the position full-time and set the annual salary at $89,180.
On March 14, 2024, members of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen voted to reduce the position’s pay to $70,000. That happened after voters replaced Dziekan with Joseph DiMartino as mayor.
Data from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities showing town population and salary for human resource directors outside of Derby. Derby has a population of about 12,500.
The lawsuit states the vote violated Christopher’s due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. Furthermore, the lawsuit states Derby officials did not give her notice regarding the vote, a reason as to why the salary was being cut, or a chance to state her case.
The lawsuit points out that the $89,180 salary was outlined in Christopher’s employment contract and that the Alders’ vote to lower it violated that contract, in addition to hurting her financially.
“The defendant (City of Derby) acted summarily, arbitrarily, and capriciously, with a complete disregard for the plaintiff’s vested rights,” according to the court filing.
A message seeking comment was left with Christopher’s attorney on Monday morning.
Christopher was hired while Dziekan was mayor. Dziekan lost a re-election bid to DiMartino in November 2023.
Former Mayor Dziekan, along with his chief of staff, Walt Mayhew, and Vin Marino, his corporation counsel, often clashed with the Democratic majority on the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen (BOA/A) over policies and procedures.
While current officials aren’t commenting on the pending litigation, the issue has been previously discussed in public.
In April 2023, while Mayor Dziekan was still in office, the Derby tax board opted not to fund the salary for the position because the dollar amount had not been approved by the Alders. Click here for the meeting minutes and go to page 10.
At Aldermanic subcommittee meetings in January and February, Alderwoman Sarah Widomski said that the Dziekan administration violated the Derby City Charter by not having the BOA/A approve the $89,180 salary for the human resources position, not getting the green light to make it full time, and by failing to have the employment contract approved by the BOA/A.
“There was certainly a violation of the City Charter when that salary was set,” Widomski said in February. “It’s the role of the (Derby) Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen to set that salary.”
Christopher spoke to a subcommittee in February to explain the importance of the position to city employees and to the success of the city. Click here to listen to the meeting.
A subcommittee, using salary and population data from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, recommended the salary for the position be set at $70,000 — a 21.5 percent decrease from what she was being paid.
The full BOA/A unanimously voted to formally set the salary at the lower level in March.
