May 8—The York School Department agreed to pay a former special education teacher $237,500 to settle a lawsuit she filed against the district last summer alleging she was discriminated against for being gay.
The school district will pay $170,000 in backpay and damages to Michele Figueira and $67,500 to her attorneys, to be doled out by the district’s insurance, according to a copy of the settlement agreement obtained by the Press Herald through a public records request.
The agreement also says Figueira will not seek reemployment with the district, and that the district does not admit to any of her allegations.
The two parties agreed to settle in March but the terms of the agreement were not immediately released.
Figueira worked at York High School from August 2013 to August 2021, when the school department did not renew her contract for the 2021-22 school year.
Two years later, in July 2023, Figueira filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Portland alleging her supervisor made “degrading” and “humiliating” comments about her sexuality and that the school failed to hold her supervisor accountable for their actions and retaliated against her by not renewing her contract, thereby subjecting her to a hostile work environment.
The Maine Human Rights Commission said in November 2022 that the district likely discriminated against Figueira on the basis of sexual orientation.
The district had denied the allegations in previous court filings.
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