Judge orders new round of questioning in sex discrimination case

BENTON, Mo. -- A judge Wednesday ordered Scott County's top elected official as well as other elected officials to undergo a new round of questioning in a sex discrimination case.

Judge Benjamin Lewis issued his order in response to a request that the judge sanction the top official, Presiding Commissioner Jim Glueck.

Lewis said he would not decide on the sanction request until after the additional depositions are taken.

"I want to find out what's going on here and then make a determination," he told the attorneys. "It doesn't make sense for me to order sanctions at this time."

The plaintiff's attorney, J.P. Clubb, filed a motion last week in Scott County Circuit Court accusing Glueck of filing a false affidavit or subsequently giving "false, incomplete and evasive answers" during a May 1 deposition in connection with the lawsuit.

A hearing on that motion was heard Wednesday in the Scott County Commission chambers because of the remodeling of a courtroom. Lewis sat in the seat normally occupied by Glueck.

The lawsuit was filed last year against the county and Sheriff Wes Drury by former jail administrator Tina Kolwyck. Clubb represents Kolwyck.

The suit claims Drury violated the Missouri Human Rights Act by removing Kolwyck from her position as jail administrator and replacing her with a male deputy who had no experience in jail administration.

According to the suit, Kolwyck was demoted to bailiff in January 2017 after Drury took office as sheriff. Kolwyck stated in a deposition she was discriminated against because of her gender.

Drury has claimed that, during the election campaign, county officials complained of problems at the jail, including an escape.

Kolwyck submitted her resignation letter to the sheriff on Tuesday, but was then fired, Clubb said after the hearing.

Kolwyck has been hired as an officer with the Miner, Missouri, Police Department.

In her resignation letter to Drury, Kolwyck wrote, "I can no longer tolerate the discriminatory workplace climate that you foster and promote."

She added, "The pay cut you imposed upon me hurt my family and was completely unwarranted."

Kolwyck wrote that her new employer, the Miner Police Department, hired her based on "its past experiences with me, and they don't care if I'm a woman or not -- they just want the best person for the job."

As for the lawsuit, the county government provided written responses to questions posed by Kolwyck's attorney in advance of the deposition. The responses were provided under Glueck's signature.

But during the deposition, Glueck testified he knew nothing about the lawsuit and never saw the answers the county provided to the written questions or interrogatories, Clubb said.

Clubb said he wants to take the depositions of the person or persons who provided the written responses in addition to re-questioning Glueck.

Bradley Hansmann, the attorney representing Scott County government and the sheriff, admitted that Glueck signed the document indicating that the answers were true.

But Hansmann told the judge that much of the information came from the sheriff's department and County Clerk Rita Milam.

The defense attorney suggested that Clubb wanted to ask Glueck about controversial Facebook posts mentioned in a Southeast Missourian newspaper article.

Before he was elected to the county's highest government office last fall, Glueck shared several misogynistic and sexist memes on his Facebook timeline depicting women in various stages of undress and compromising positions, the newspaper reported last month.

The judge ordered all additional depositions to be completed by Dec. 20. Lewis set the case for trial on March 30 and 31, and April 1, 2020.

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