SOUTH HADLEY — The South Hadley Electric Light Board is close to reaching a settlement in a $750,000 whistleblower lawsuit alleging an unsafe work environment and a pattern of bullying, insufficient managerial oversight and retaliation.
The complaint was filed in October 2015 by SHELD electrician Robert Blasko Jr., and court records show the court dismissed the case on Aug. 11, allowing the parties 60 days to reach a settlement. Board member Anne Awad said Monday the board must meet to finalize a settlement. The board’s next meeting date has yet to be set.
“It’s only a draft at this point — we haven’t got a final agreement that we’ve all signed off on,” she said, adding she’s not permitted to discuss the details. “It’s not done, as far as I’m concerned.”
Attempts to reach Blasko’s attorney, Andrew Gambaccini, were unsuccessful Monday and Tuesday.
Blasko claims in his complaint that former engineer Andrew Orr and former general manager Wayne Doerpholz retaliated against him for complaining about a long-standing pattern of intimidation. That includes an alleged assault by Orr against Blasko in December 2013, and that Doerpholz failed to adequately intervene.
Among the allegations outlined in the lawsuit is that Orr had slapped and hit employees and that in one instance he followed an employee wielding a 2-by-6 piece of wood.
Blasko “claims principally that the defendants retaliated against him because he complained outside of SHELD, including, in particular, Doerpholz’s longstanding tolerance of Orr’s harassing, threatening, and, at times, violent workplace misconduct directed at fellow SHELD employees, including (Blasko),” Judge Robertson wrote in her recommendation on motions to dismiss claims filed by all three defendants in the case.
Orr resigned from his post July 22, 2016, while on paid leave — two months after the board voted not to renew Doerpholz’s contract.
Town Manager Mike Sullivan said the settlement amount, once finalized, will be a matter of public record.
“We’re just looking to have it in the rearview mirror,” he said.
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.