Retaliation claims of former Bristol CC police chief end in $600k settlement

Former Bristol CC Police Chief Wayne Wood Settles Retaliation Lawsuit with School for $600,000

Former Bristol Community College (BCC) police chief Wayne Wood recently settled a lawsuit against the school for $600,000. Wood was fired in October 2017, less than a year after he testified in another police officer’s sexual discrimination lawsuit, which resulted in a $1 million judgment against Bristol. In May 2018, Wood sued Bristol, alleging that the firing was in retaliation for his testimony. The case was set to go to trial in February 2022, but Bristol settled with Wood before the trial. Bristol was being defended by the state’s Office of the Attorney General.

Wood’s attorney, Adrienne Catherine Beauregard-Rheaume, claimed that Wood was the only person in Bristol’s leadership team who supported the truth in the sexual discrimination lawsuit. Wood was fired on the pretext of poor job performance, which he claimed was a retaliatory action against his testimony. According to Beauregard-Rheaume, Wood knew that testifying against what the leadership team wanted him to say at the sexual discrimination lawsuit could end his career. Nevertheless, he refused to tell the company lie and got fired for it.

In Wood’s lawsuit, he alleged that Bristol administrators and lawyers representing the school in the sexual discrimination lawsuit applied “intense pressure” on him to change his testimony so that it would favor Bristol in the legal proceedings. The Bristol administrators and lawyers claimed they had no knowledge of what Wood said at the trial. However, it was discovered that Steven Kenyon, Bristol’s vice president of administration and finance, admitted in a deposition that Wood had kept him informed on what was happening at the trial.

Wood claimed that Bristol’s administrators and lawyers started laying the groundwork to terminate him after the Ledoux civil trial. In February 2017, Bristol hired an outside party to look at issues brought out in the Ledoux trial. Discussions to start the termination process began, but Wood was denied the opportunity to meet with the consultant and never participated in the public safety office review. According to Beauregard-Rheaume, Bristol had the wherewithal to lay the groundwork for a legal reason to effectuate Wood’s termination, but it was clear pretext.

Wood’s experience with Bristol did not change him, despite the fact that he never got a job in law enforcement again, and his pension was impacted. Wood’s lawsuit, which lasted for nearly five years, was ready to go to trial, but both Wood and Beauregard-Rheaume were willing to go to trial if an appropriate settlement had not been reached. Wood, who was diagnosed with an incurable but treatable form of cancer in April 2021, said it was time to move on from the legal challenge and start enjoying his family.

EducationLawyers.com

Retaliation against employees who speak out against wrongful actions in the workplace is a serious issue that cannot be ignored. The case of former Bristol Community College police chief Wayne Wood is a prime example of how speaking up against the company line can lead to retaliation and ultimately cost someone their job. It's important for employees to know their rights and seek the help of experienced education lawyers if they feel they have been wrongfully terminated or retaliated against for speaking out.