SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The City of South Lake Tahoe will pay $265,000 settlement to resolve a complaint from a former employee who alleges harassment, discrimination, and retaliation related to her disability.

The city agreed to provide a one-hour training on reasonable disability accommodations within 90 days of reaching the settlement on Tuesday.

The city will pay $50,000 in lost wages and $215,000 in emotional distress damages, including $15,000 for releasing the employees right to sue in the future. The city did not admit fault in the settlement.

The city declined to comment about the settlement.

California Civil Rights Department Director Kevin Kish praised the settlement in a statement. The CRD mediated the settlement.

“Punishing an employee for asking for changes to their work environment is against the law,” Kish said. “Everyone is entitled to a good-faith review of any disability-related requests on the job. Through this settlement, the City of South Lake Tahoe is taking important steps to address and prevent any future instances of disability discrimination in the workplace.”

The settlement addresses an incident from 2025 in which a city employee requested a reasonable accommodation at work for a disability. Soon after her request, she alleged, her supervisor entered her office and spoke with her for a half hour. 

She alleged the meeting was threatening and that she was told she “could be fired or should resign.” She filed an internal complaint about the meeting, and she alleged her supervisor began treating her worse afterward.

The employee then filed a complaint with the CRD, which investigated the claims and provided the opportunity for mediation, resulting in the settlement, new city training, a neutral employment reference for the employee and a future report on the city’s compliance with the terms of agreement.