The Daviess County Public Library board decided in their Wednesday meeting to not take action — at least for now — against one of their managers after a complaint citing disability discrimination and retaliation was filed against him.
The complaint, filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, came after Public Services Manager Brandon Hagan terminated DCPL employee Seth Boone.
Boone – who has diabetes, autism, ADHD, OCD, Tourette’s Syndrome, and other mental health ailments – claimed that Hagan did not give him reasonable accommodations for his disabilities and fired him on unjust grounds.
The board went into a lengthy closed session Wednesday to discuss the matter. Although there is no action being taken at this time, the board said it will continue to investigate.
“We have not taken any action,” said Board President Michelle Drake. “We are going to continue to do our due diligence and investigate things as they come through.”
The board had no further comments.
Jason Boone, Seth’s father, understands the board’s decision.
“(The library is) a place in our community that we wouldn’t expect these type of issues to be,” Jason said. “I wouldn’t expect them to go into a quick 2-hour session and resolve the issue. In fairness to the people being accused of the allegations, if it were me in that position, I would want a fair and just process as well.”
Seth agreed with his father, though he expressed hope that the board would side with him.
“I hope that they make the correct decision,” Seth said. “I’d rather not have this wind up becoming a lawsuit, but I am prepared to go that direction if it is completely necessary.”
Before the closed session, the Boones and members of the public were in attendance to give their comments on the situation.
“It is completely ridiculous that someone like me should not only be expected to put away an arbitrary amount of books per day, but also have to put away more simply because I am disabled, which is the exact opposite of what should happen,” Seth said. “It is completely disgusting the way I and many people before me have been treated, and it is going to end today.”
Lisa Boone, Seth’s mother, expressed her disappointment with the library.
“A library is supposed to be a safe space for all, a place that everyone should feel welcome,” Lisa said. “You have changed that, not just for Seth, but for those who have medical or mental health diagnoses. You have made a statement that you will not allow differences.”
Haley Pratt – a DCPL employee from 2015 to 2019 – also spoke, claiming that she experienced similar treatment from Hagan after she was diagnosed with gastroparesis, which causes uncontrollable nausea and vomiting.
“Brandon’s accommodation for me was to tell me not to eat or drink if I was going to come in to work,” Pratt said. “I called in sick one day due to vomiting blood. I faced an interrogation from Brandon demanding to know how sick I was, how much blood I puked, and then tried to convince me to come in by noon. I had internal bleeding. All he cared about was not messing up the schedule.”
Jason reiterated that they are not just fighting for Seth, but all those that have been affected.
“It just breaks my heart to hear the stories that I have,” Jason said. “We’re trying to be a voice for everyone.”
