A Frackville man has settled his federal lawsuit concerning what he alleged was Schuylkill County's refusal to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act concerning his employment as a corrections officer.
Michael Gera had claimed that the county violated the ADA by not making reasonable accommodations to allow him to continue his employment at Schuylkill County Prison in spite of his osteoarthritis, and discharging him after he requested relief.
However, he and the county settled the lawsuit last week, according to an order filed by Waynesboro lawyer Charles E. Ganley, the mediator in the case.
Senior U.S. District Judge Richard P. Conaboy then entered an order dismissing the lawsuit, with a provision allowing Gera to reinstate it if the settlement is not successfully concluded.
The orders did not reveal the terms of the settlement and neither Larry A. Weisberg, Harrisburg, Gera's lawyer, nor Frank L. Tamulonis Jr., Pottsville, the county's lawyer, could be reached Wednesday for comment on it or other aspects of the case.
In his lawsuit, which he filed June 26, Gera had sought unspecified monetary damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and costs, and demanded a jury trial of the case.
He had alleged that in 2006, after working for 20 years as a correctional officer, he had surgery that revealed his osteoarthritis. After that, he requested light-duty work, which he originally received but was denied after a change in the union contract, according to the lawsuit.
The county ordered Gera to return to work as a corrections officer, which he could not do, the lawsuit alleged in part. Eventually, the county laid off Gera in 2011 without negotiating with him to try to find him other employment at the prison, thereby denying him his rights under the act, according to the lawsuit.
Gera said that the county's actions violated the act by blocking him from returning to work and not allowing him to work in a job he was capable of performing.
He also alleged the county's actions violated the state Human Relations Act.
