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Former Elgin water director files discrimination complaint

Elgin's former water director has filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming the city discriminated against her because of her gender and age.

Kyla Jacobsen, 59, retired in December as interim public services director, a position she held since May 2017 after heading the water department for 12 years. In her complaint, she said her predecessor and her successor, both males, had higher pay grades. Her predecessor also received higher pay.

The city denied the discrimination charges and said Jacobsen's complaint is "riddled with patently false assertions" in a March 29 response to the EEOC submitted by the law firm Clark Baird Smith LLP in Rosemont. The Daily Herald received the documents via a Freedom of Information Act request.

"The city has not unlawfully discriminated against Ms. Jacobsen," Elgin Corporation Counsel Bill Cogley said Wednesday.

Jacobsen declined to comment Wednesday.

Eric Weiss was promoted water director Jan. 21 at a base salary of $133,009, the same amount Jacobsen would have been paid as water director starting Jan. 1, the city's response stated. Jacobsen was at salary step seven, while Weiss - who continues his duties as senior engineer, the city said - is at step five. That means he's eligible for a $146,643 salary when he reaches step seven, documents show.

The city said Jacobsen was paid more money overall than Weiss due to a 4-percent longevity increase, which Weiss didn't receive.

In her EEOC complaint, Jacobsen said she was promoted to water director in 2005 at a lower pay grade than her predecessor.

The city said Jacobsen actually was promoted to a new position called "water system superintendent" with fewer duties than the water director. Her job title was changed to water director in 2010, but the workload remained the same.

Jacobsen said she requested a pay grade increase approximately every six months and was told to put together a plan to be submitted to the city council, but "was never afforded that opportunity."

The city said there is no evidence of that and Jacobsen never submitted a "pay plan for herself."

In her complaint, Jacobsen said the city "systematically hired" people younger than 40, and her direct supervisor inquired in early 2017 whether she was retiring soon. The city responded that it employs twice as many people older than 40 than younger than 40, and the supervisor's comment, if true, is "ambiguous."

When she was appointed interim public services director in May, Jacobsen received a 5-percent pay increase to $136,253, the city said.

EEOC spokesman James Ryan said the agency doesn't confirm or deny complaints, and investigations usually take months.

When a complaint is filed against a local or state government, Ryan said, the EEOC can investigate and "try to come up with a conciliation." Unlike complaints against private employers, EEOC can't file a lawsuit but it can refer complaints to the U.S. Department of Justice or a state civil rights agency, he said.

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