Sarpy County settles with former employee, agrees to $580,000 settlement

SARPY COUNTY, Neb. —

The Sarpy County Board of Commissioners approved a $580,000 settlement Tuesday with Laurie Burgess, a former deputy county attorney, following her lawsuit.

Burgess filed the lawsuit early last year, alleging she was discriminated against because of her age. She alleged that Bonnie Moore, the chief deputy county attorney at the time, forced her to resign, which she said violated Sarpy County personnel rules and regulations.

In the complaint, Burgess alleges that Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov “told other attorneys that he likes to terminate older employees toward the end of their career and replace them with younger attorneys.” The complaint alleges both Moore and Polikov have a history of forcing “older attorneys” to resign when they reach a certain age.

According to the documents, Burgess was hired in 1999 and had more than 27 years of criminal litigation experience.

Sarpy County filed its response to the lawsuit in April, generally denying all allegations made by Burgess.

Bonnie Moore, who is now the chief administrative officer for the county, did not respond directly to inquiries about the lawsuit. Instead, a county representative said, “The county and its insurer deny all allegations” and added that the board approved the settlement to “avoid the uncertain expense of litigation.”