Greenlee County has been hit with a federal employment discrimination lawsuit by its former economic development coordinator, Akos Kovach, who was fired in January at the age of 70.
The three-count civil complaint filed Sept. 3 alleges the county engaged in age discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment in violation of the Age Discrimination In Employment Act of 1967 and the Arizona Civil Rights Act leading up to and including his termination by County Administrator Derek Rapier.
Kovach previously delivered a Notice of Claim to the Greenlee County Clerk demanding $625,000 to settle his discrimination claims without litigation. County officials did not respond, which is considered a rejection of the claim. That freed Kovach to sue in state court, but he and attorney Richard M. Martinez opted to have the matter heard in U.S. District Court.
But even before he was terminated, Kovach filed a charge of employment discrimination with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) based on his interactions with Rapier, who previously served as county attorney.
In addition to financial damages, Kovach seeks a court order forcing county officials to place him in the position “he would currently enjoy but for the unlawful conduct of defendant.” He also wants a court order permanently enjoining county officials from discriminating against any person, including Kovach.
County officials will have 21 days to respond once served with the civil action summons. The lawsuit does not name Rapier as a direct defendant.
According to Kovach, he was hired in October 2014 by then-County Administrator Deborah Kay Gaye. Kovach was 64 years old at the time. Gale left the position in August 2019.
“Throughout this period plaintiff’s efforts as a department director were seen as positive, productive, beneficial to Greenlee county and for which recognition and awards were received,” the lawsuit alleges.
Things changed for the worse, the lawsuit alleges, after Rapier became county administrator.
“From the inception of Rapier’s role as County Administrator he questioned plaintiff about when he intended to retire, an inquiry that was made on a repeated basis, was not informational in nature and communicated Rapier’s perception of plaintiff as too old, not productive and desired departure from employment with defendant,” the lawsuit states, adding that Rapier allegedly targeted Kovach’s work with “excessive and unwarranted scrutiny and subjective criticism.”
Kovach also claims his access to the Greenlee County Board of Supervisors was restricted, his presentations at Board meetings was eliminated, and he was excluded from a county board economic development work session.
“As a direct and proximate result of the conduct of defendant, plaintiff suffered
injury including but not limited to economic loss, emotional distress, mental anguish, humiliation and embarrassment, loss of enjoyment of life and deprivation of his rights to equal employment opportunities,” the lawsuit states.
Kovach is not bound by his earlier $625,000 settlement offer when a jury trial is held in mid-2022. The case has been assigned to U.S. Senior Judge Ranier Collins.
Greenlee County was recognized by the Washington DC-based National Association of Development Organizations with its 2017 Innovation Award for its work promoting economic development to improve the quality of life for local residents.
