Settlement Agreements Reveal Additional Costs

The cost of settling three disability lawsuits is higher than what was first announced earlier this month by Baltimore County officials.

Settlement agreements signed by the county and three individual employees—two firefighters and a retired police officer—show that the county will pay the men for as many as four years back pay, including leave time and service time credited to their respective pensions. Additionally, the two firefighters combined could be eligible for deferred retirement payments totaling nearly $750,000.

The additional costs were part of settlement agreements released to Patch by Kathleen Cahill, a Towson-based attorney who represented firefighters Donald Becker and Stanley Kuklinski and retired police Lt. Michael Lauenstein.

Becker and Kuklinski were reinstated to light duty positions as part of the settlements.

Cahill said the settlements were the result "years of fighting for their rights under the [Americans with Disabilities Act] after illegal discharge."

Cahill said 16 more Baltimore County employees and applicants have prevailed before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on their claims that the county violated federal disability law.

The claimants include a police officer, firefighters, school bus drivers and a school custodian, and a librarian.

"These are violations of the ADA that reach all corners of county service," Cahill said, adding that the alleged violations "fit within the pattern and practice" of a consent decree entered into by the county and the U.S. Department of Justice last August.

The new cases now head to the Department of Justice.

County officials were not immediately available for comment.

Becker, Kuklinski and Lauenstein in September field lawsuits seeking $2.3 million in damages and additional legal fees. All three claimed they were forced to undergo illegal medical testing that the county then used to force them into retirement.

Earlier this month, county officials announced that the trio agreed to settle their individual lawsuits with the county.

As part of the announcement on the County's blog, County Attorney Michael Field wrote that all three would be allowed to return to work under a new light duty policy created by the county. The three would also receive modified pensions that reflect payments from the county retirement system at the time that they filed the lawsuits. The details of those modifications were not made public at the time.

The announcement also said the three would be paid $20,000 each in compensatory damages and the county will pay legal fees totaling $47,377.50.

Details of the settlement agreements include:

• Becker was a firefigher from April 1981 to June 2009.

In 2008, Becker underwent shoulder replacement surgery. He was later given permission by his surgeon to return to full, unrestricted duty after what was called a "remarkable recovery," according to the lawsuit.

The county ordered him to undergo additional medical exams, which also cleared him for duty. Despite that diagnosis, Becker was sent a letter requiring that he resign by January 16, 2009. He was later threatened with a loss of retirement benefits if he did not comply and was ultimately forced out on a disability retirement.

He will receive more than $333,000 in back pay dating back to 2009. After repaying the county for some pension benefits paid to him, Becker will net nearly $89,000.

Additionally, the county will credit him for four years of service and the sick and leave time he would have accrued during that period. Finally, Becker would be eligible for lump sum deferred retirement payments of between $215,000 and $368,000 based on whether he opts for a three, four or five year deferral.

• Kuklinski served as a firefighter from March 1983 to October 2008 and was "highly decorated for his achievements and bravery," according to the federal lawsuit.

Following coronary bypass surgery in 2007, Kuklinski was ordered to undergo extensive medical exams by the county, which the lawsuits alleged were illegal.

Despite being cleared for duty by his own doctor, the county required additional medical exams and later restricted him to light duty before forcing him to leave his job on a disability retirement, according to the lawsuit.

As part of his settlement, Kuklinski will net more than $125,000 in back salary. He will also be credited for more than four years of service time and back leave.

His deferred retirement lump sum payment will fall between $212,000 and $370,000.

• Lauenstein served as a lieutenant in the Baltimore County Police Department from February 1976 to February 2007.

Lauenstein was forced to undergo medical exams after his name came up in court testimony related to a lawsuit filed by Phillip Crumbacker, who sued the county appealing his forced retirement due to a seizure disorder.

Crumbacker's lawyer said in testimony that Lauenstein was also believed to have also had seizures. The next day, the county ordered Lauenstein to undergo medical testing.

In all three cases, the county used the same physician—Dr. Peter Oroszlan.

Oroszlan was linked in all ten cases settled last month through the Department of Justice. As part of that settlement, the county is barred from using Oroszlan again.

As part of the settlement agreement, the county agreed to reset Lauenstein's retirement date from Feb. 2007 to Feb. 2009.

As a result, the county will pay Lauenstein more than $100,000 in back pay and more than $120,000 in additional deferred retirement payments.

 Read more:

• Baltimore County Settles 10 DOJ Disability Cases
• Baltimore County Faces Three Additional Federal Lawsuits
• County Expects Vindication in Federal Disabillity Lawsuits
• County Announces Settlements In 3 Federal Disability Lawsuits
• Public Safety Employees Reap Benefits of DROP
• Council Presses For Briefing on Early Retirement Incentive