Former Kiski treasurer, supervisor claims discrimination in civil suit
Share this post:
A former Kiski Township secretary and treasurer who briefly served as a supervisor is seeking more than $50,000 from the township in a civil suit alleging she was discriminated against because of her gender.
In her complaint in Armstrong County Court, Sherry Lynn Tamski claims she was paid less while working the dual roles of township secretary and treasurer than a man who replaced her as secretary, and that she was wrongfully fired as treasurer in January 2022 after she was elected as a township supervisor in the November 2021 election.
Tamski resigned from her six-year term as a supervisor in March , citing “despicable treatment” she claimed to have received from other supervisors since taking office.
Tamski’s attorney, Neal Sanders, said Monday that neither he nor his client would comment on the case. Tamski could not be reached for comment.
The township’s attorney, Allison Genard, declined to comment Monday.
Tamski is bringing her court case after the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in July found there was insufficient evidence to establish that the township discriminated against her based on sex and retaliation. Tamski filed a complaint alleging discrimination with the commission in February 2021.
According to her court complaint filed Nov. 21, Kiski first hired Tamski as a part-time accounting assistant in May 2019, then made her the full-time secretary/treasurer in January 2020.
In April 2020, Tamski asked for a $4 per hour raise because of additional duties she had undertaken. Supervisors rejected the request the following month while giving her an additional duty as liaison between the township and Berkheimer for tax reports and payments.
In August 2020, supervisors hired Patrick Bono as secretary and changed Tamski’s position to only treasurer. According to Tamski’s complaint, Bono’s pay was $4.06 per hour more than Tamski’s.
According to the complaint, while supervisors told her Bono was being paid more because he was not using the township’s health insurance, all other employees are paid based on position and time in service without regard to using the township’s health insurance.
Tamski also claims to have been more qualified than Bono for secretary and treasurer, but the complaint does not elaborate as to why or how.
However, the state Human Relations Commission found that Tamski failed to show she was subjected to unequal pay. According to the commission’s findings, Tamski learned in November 2021 that Bono was being paid more.
In its findings, the commission said Tamski admitted to having no township secretary experience. Further, it said Bono has a master of public administration degree while Tamski has an associate degree.
Tamski “did not provide evidence that she ever performed the full range of township secretary duties,” the commission stated in its findings.
In her court case, Tamski said she and Bono, who had also been elected as a township supervisor in November 2021, were told at a meeting that month that they would both be fired from their jobs with the township if they became supervisors.
While Bono chose not to be sworn in, Tamski was and the other supervisors removed her as treasurer at her first meeting as a supervisor on Jan. 3, 2022. Her treasurer duties were given to Bono.
While Tamski claims in her court case that a township supervisor may be appointed as secretary or treasurer, the Human Relations Commission found that she could no longer hold an administrative position in Kiski’s government offices after being elected supervisor.
While Tamski identified board members serving as firefighters or road crew for the township, the commission noted that Tamski was not a firefighter or road crew employee.
“The township treasurer position is a key government position and cannot be held by an elected supervisor,” the commission’s findings state. “As such, (Tamski) was not qualified for the treasurer position when she accepted the elected supervisor position.”
Because she was not qualified for treasurer when she accepted the elected supervisor position, Tamski “did not establish a valid claim” that her discharge was retaliation, the commission found.
Tamski had also claimed harassment, reporting that she was told she was not permitted to campaign for supervisor on work time but that Bono was asked if he was running for office and confirmed that he was.
“Confirming that one is running for office is not the same as campaigning during work time,” the commission’s findings state. “There are state and federal regulations that prohibit campaigning and similar political activity during work hours.”