SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County has reached mediated settlements with two former employees who accused Assistant County Manager Tina Smith-Dean of retaliating against them in the workplace, federal court records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
The proposed lawsuit settlements, which total $304,000, are scheduled to be discussed by county commissioners on Tuesday.
Recommended Videos
The payment amounts are expected to be finalized on or before Jan. 24, records viewed by KSAT show.
County officials have contended since the suits were filed in the summer of 2021 that Smith-Dean did not discriminate or retaliate against former budget analyst Alexandria Millan and former administrative coordinator Nancy McClure-Soto.
A county spokeswoman last week told KSAT the decision to settle the suits was made by the county’s insurer and that the county did not admit wrongdoing or liability in court.
“A soul-crushing and demeaning environment”
Millan, who was hired by the county in 2017, said Smith-Dean caused a work environment of bullying, intimidation, harassment, defamation and retaliation.
“I never thought that I would be stepping into a soul-crushing and demeaning environment that thrives on causing harm to others,” Millan’s June 2021 lawsuit stated.
The suit came after Millan was issued a “right to sue” letter by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Millan was transferred from the budget department to purchasing in 2020 after filing EEOC complaints related to Smith-Dean’s treatment of her.
Millan’s suit claimed that she began to be targeted by Smith-Dean at work after questioning some budget expenditures.
The suit also claimed that Smith-Dean wrote up Millan at work, shortly after receiving confirmation that an EEOC complaint had been filed.
Millan’s tentative settlement amount is $79,000, records viewed by KSAT show.
She resigned from the county in 2021.
Records: McClure-Soto to get $225,000 settlement
In a separate 2021 lawsuit naming Smith-Dean, McClure-Soto claimed the assistant county manager ramped up retaliations against her after McClure-Soto informed Smith-Dean via email in Dec. 2019 that she felt harassed and bullied by her.
McClure-Soto, according to the suit, had accused Smith-Dean of harassment and bullying as far back as 2018 in a letter to County Manager David Smith.
“It is plaintiff’s belief that the letter was directly shared with the Assistant County Manager as Mrs. Smith-Dean then began an overt campaign to attack and retaliate against the plaintiff,” her suit stated.
In February 2020, McClure-Soto was placed on leave after a list of coworkers accused her in written statements of taking photos or videos of them, intimidating them at work and disrupting their work environment.
McClure-Soto retired in lieu of termination from her position in the summer of 2020, records show.
McClure-Soto’s tentative settlement agreement is $225,000, records viewed by KSAT show.
Commissioners are scheduled to discuss the suits in an executive session on Tuesday.
Settlement amounts would need to be formally approved by commissioners during open court, likely later this month.
The outside attorney who represented Bexar County in the two suits did not respond to a phone call seeking comment for this story.
In a statement, Bexar County spokeswoman Monica Ramos told KSAT via email last week:
“The business decision to settle these two matters wholly belonged to Bexar County’s insurer. Bexar County continues to deny that any acts of discrimination or retaliation occurred. Nothing about the insurer’s decision to settle both claims can be construed as an admission of any wrongdoing or liability by Bexar County, which is expressly denied.”
A third suit naming Smith-Dean, filed by Bexar County employee Dr. Allen Castro, remains pending, federal court records show.
The suit claims Smith-Dean has targeted Castro for years.
The suit also reveals that Castro, who has played a prominent role in the county’s groundbreaking opioid lawsuit, provided nearly four hours of testimony and significant documentation during an independent investigation of Smith-Dean launched after another employee filed a complaint against her.
That investigation, conducted by Kelmar Global Investigations, concluded in 2020 that the allegations against Smith-Dean could not be substantiated, county officials previously said.
County officials have repeatedly declined to make the report public.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.