Ex-Columbus employee gets $195K settlement after claim she was required to do Ginther campaign work

File photo of Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

A former city employee received a $195,000 settlement from the city of Columbus after claiming she was illegally required to work on the 2023 reelection campaign of Mayor Andrew Ginther.

The allegation of political work on the city’s dime appears in an unfiled federal court lawsuit prepared by a lawyer for Denise Bauer, who worked as an assistant to Ginther, a Democrat.

The lawsuit was provided to city lawyers as Bauer sought a legal settlement for not being paid overtime, including for “regularly fielding extensive inquiries and communications from Mayor Ginther’s campaign staff to perform work for the mayor’s campaign.

“Accordingly, she was required to work even more to complete her normal workload and the litany of requests from the campaign,” the draft lawsuit claimed.

The unfiled lawsuit says Bauer was forced to resign on Aug. 3, 2023 after raising concerns with unidentified supervisors about the political work for Ginther.

While she was barred from city hall, Bauer was paid for nearly five more months – and received insurance benefits – until Dec. 31, the suit says. Ginther was easily reelected to a third term on Nov. 7.

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The mayor denies Bauer worked on city time on his campaign, said Jennifer Fening, a deputy chief of staff to Ginther.

“Effectively managing his calendar is a core work responsibility of (Bauer’s) role, and is completely appropriate. In the documentation provided, the city makes clear its position of zero wrongdoing, and that is still true today,” she said.

A vague near-$200,000 settlement with Bauer was approved by Columbus City Council on Sept. 16 to address “previously unreported overtime hours” and avoid possible litigation. Ginther’s office said it could not respond in detail due to a confidentiality agreement.

Council members did not question the settlement, which a city lawyer told them would be better to settle than go to court.

The threatened lawsuit by Columbus lawyer Edward Hastie and other documents from the city were obtained through a public records request.

Ohio law prohibits the use of public resources, such as a public employee’s hours worked, on political campaigns. Columbus’ policy forbids office holders and employees from engaging in political activity forbidden by state law.

Bauer, a six-year mayor’s office employee last paid the equivalent of $85,010 a year, claimed in the suit that Ginther and other city staff “could command where, when and how much labor” she performed and she largely was on call, even when off work, a vast majority of the time. She said she regularly worked 50- to 60-hour weeks without extra pay.

Her lawyer contended she was willfully and improperly denied overtime throughout her career with the city and was wrongfully terminated.

The threatened lawsuit is undated. Hastie, Bauer’s attorney, first contacted the office of City Attorney Zach Klein on Jan. 3, 2024 – three days after Bauer’s city pay and benefits ended.

Hastie, who initially sought $266,235 in unpaid overtime and legal fees, expressed hopes of reaching a settlement on Bauer’s behalf without having to file a lawsuit against the city.

The settlement contains a confidentiality agreement and anti-disparagement clause. Governments cannot legally enter confidentiality agreements that block the release of public records, which the city acknowledged in the settlement.

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