A U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi judge Thursday denied a request to dismiss the case of a former Lowndes County Road Department employee, who sued the county for sex discrimination in her February 2008 termination.
Then a 13-year employee of the road department, Anna Mae Tofsrud was the sole employee at the county”s sign shop, when the shop was closed, reportedly for budgetary reasons, and Tofsrud”s position was eliminated.
The only female employee of the department, Tofsrud, who is represented by Jim Waide of Tupelo, alleged she was terminated based on her gender.
Road Manager Ronnie Burns subsequently offered Tofsrud other jobs in the road department, but Tofsrud declined other offers, including one as a crew member, for a salary less than her previous salary, court documents assert.
Tofsrud filed a lawsuit against the county on Dec. 9, 2008; the county requested summary judgment, but Chief Judge Mike Mills Thursday found the case “presents a rather classic example of a triable discrimination claim” and denied the motion.
The case is scheduled to go to trial in Oxford May 10.
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