Motion hearing set for Aging Unit lawsuit

HURLEY - Lawyers representing the Aging Unit of Iron County and its former director are expected to be in court Monday for a motion hearing in a lawsuit regarding a dispute about the benefits the director is owed.

A motion for summary judgement in the case, asking the case against the Aging Unit be dismissed, is one of items that will be handled in Monday's hearing.

Mary Kay Welch is claiming she is owed $4,736 for the vacation, personal and sick leave time she had accrued prior to her leaving her job as Aging Unit director, according to court records.

Welch's time as director came to an end in December 2015.

"Two of my predecessors received compensation for accrued vacation, personal and sick time," Welch wrote in her original filing. "I feel it is unjust to refuse to compensate me when I did not abruptly leave my job."

In the response to the lawsuit, Iron County Corporation Counsel Tim Dean denied the Aging Unit owed Welch money.

Dean's response to the filing argued three things: that Welch was already paid the proper amount she was owed for vacation time; personal days are forfeited if not used by the end of the fiscal year; and the Aging Unit's personnel policy dictates accrued sick leave is forfeited once an employee is terminated.

The response also claims Welch had "no written employment contract," and her job description made her subject to the personnel policy - with some exceptions specifically listed in the job description.

In an affidavit, Welch argues the personnel policy allows exceptions for additional vacation time "based on job category and/or longevity," and that as executive director she was entitled to 20 days vacation per year rather than the two-week limit in the policy. She acknowledges she was previously paid for the two weeks but her affidavit contends she is still owed a balance of seven vacation days.

It also said she isn't subject to the Aging Unit's personnel policy, and elsewhere in the court documents she argues that means she doesn't forfeit the accrued sick or personal time.

She also submitted evidence she claims showed the previous directors were paid what they had accrued when leaving the position.

The response to the Dean's motion for summary - filed by Welch's attorney, Rudy Perhalla - further lays out her argument.

It argues the personal time shouldn't be forfeited as she left the position prior to the Dec. 31 end of the fiscal year and therefore the days couldn't have been forfeited at the end of the fiscal year.

In total, Welch is claiming she is owed 56 hours of vacation, 32 hours of personal time and 96 hours of sick leave, for a cumulative 184 hours of unpaid benefits.

The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m.