After settlement, White resigns from RCSO
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The Ringgold County Sheriff’s Department is short one deputy following the signing of a settlement agreement between the county and sheriff’s deputy Landon White.
In the agreement signed by the Ringgold County supervisor chair Ron Landphair on April 5, White agreed to voluntarily resign his employment with the county effective April 9.
White was then placed on paid administrative leave until April 30, during which time he will receive regular wages from the county.
The county agreed to pay all of White’s accrued and unused vacation and holiday time.
On or after April 8, the designated “effective date” of the settlement, the county agreed to pay a total sum of $55,000 in two checks.
A general check payable to White in the amount of $40,000 was designated as “compensatory damages, including emotional distress.”
A second check for $15,000 is payable to Duff Law Firm, PLC, for attorney’s fees and costs.
In addition, the county agreed to allow for the retirement of K-9 Officer “Heky” and to allow While to purchase “Heky” for $1.
According to language in the agreement, the settlement stems from “all claims, demands, or actions which were or could have been asserted by [White].”
While the claims were unspecified in the settlement agreement, the settlement document contains a specific release of claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
The settlement agreement was intended to “amicably resolve fully and completely any and all disputes, claims, issues, and differences between [the county and White] which arose prior to the Effective Date of the
Agreement.”
According to the agreement, the county “has expressly denied and continues to deny all of [White’s] claims concerning his employment with the county, but desire to avoid the cost, expense, and burden connected with further proceedings and litigation…
“This agreement shall not be construed as an admission by the county or its elected and appointed officials of any wrongdoing or violation of any federal, state, or local statute or ordinance or any enforceable right of the employee. The county specifically disclaims any wrongdoing whatsoever against [the] employee on the part of its current or former employees, officials, or agents.”
Both White and the county supervisors declined to comment on the settlement.