JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri attorney general’s office quietly withdrew this month from a lawsuit in which a state senator’s son had been accused of submitting false timesheets while he worked for the Department of Economic Development.
Patrick Cierpiot sued the state in October 2021, nearly two years after he was fired, alleging his supervisors failed to make a reasonable accommodation for him after he injured his wrist in a bicycle accident, in violation of the .
But the state fired back with a counterclaim, alleging Cierpiot “fraudulently or negligently indicated on his timesheet that he worked†hours he did not work, the state said in a February 2022 court filing.
Records show the office of Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey withdrew from the case on Aug. 9, and that attorneys with the private law firm Baty Otto Coronado Scheer PC are now representing the Department of Economic Development.
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Cierpiot is the son of state Sen. , R-Lee’s Summit, and former state Rep. , who represented Independence in the Missouri House between 1995 and 2003.
Mike Cierpiot is chairman of the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and Environment Committee and sits on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.
Gov. Mike Parson appointed Connie Cierpiot to the Appellate Judicial Commission, which will help decide which judges will fill two vacancies on the Missouri Supreme Court this year.
Before the state withdrew from the case against their son, Mike Cierpiot publicly praised Bailey at least twice in recent months: he said in April that Bailey was doing a “good job†and told the Kansas City Star that he was “excited†for Bailey in that ran in June.
Mike Cierpiot did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
But Madeline Sieren, spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, said Thursday there was no conflict of interest and that Bailey’s office was outsourcing “complex cases†on employment law.
“Our office is in the process of standing up a new unit that will specialize in employment law, so in the interim, we are outsourcing more complex cases to employment law attorneys, including Cierpiot vs. Department of Economic Development,†she said in a statement.
Jury trial
Theresa Otto, one of the Department of Economic Development’s new attorneys, declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
A jury trial is scheduled for Oct. 15, 2024, in Jackson County Circuit Court.
Victoria Arends, one of Patrick Cierpiot’s attorneys, said Thursday she believed the case was bound for trial after an assistant attorney general rejected settlement negotiations with Cierpiot.
Arends said she sent an initial settlement demand to the state in late July, but that assistant attorney general Joyce Johnson responded on Aug. 1, declining settlement negotiations at that time.
“So, at that point, we just kind of ceased talking about settlement,†Arends said.
Johnson, the assistant attorney general, withdrew from the case on Aug. 9. But Arends said she still believes a trial is likely after the hiring of outside counsel.
“We’ve seen an influx of a lot of the state agencies hiring outside private counsel instead of the attorney general’s office doing it,†Arends said.
Arends mentioned two other cases she is litigating in which private attorneys had recently signed up to represent state agencies.
Lawsuit, counterclaim
In Patrick Cierpiot’s lawsuit, he claims he was subject to unlawful discrimination based on his disability.
He said he worked for the Department of Economic Development’s Kansas City office, and that on Aug. 19, 2019, he injured his wrist in a bike wreck and required surgery.
The lawsuit said that due to the injury and surgery, Cierpiot “experienced limitations related to his work duties, including but not limited to writing and typing.â€
He also said his “right wrist, hand and arm were in constant pain,†and that prescription painkillers he took “made his head feel cloudy.â€
Cierpiot said he asked Paul Eisenstein, deputy director of the Strategy and Performance Division, for an accommodation including temporary reduction in duties and deadline extensions, but no accommodation was offered, the lawsuit said.
After that, Eisenstein gave Cierpiot more work assignments instead of accommodating him, the lawsuit said.
Cierpiot’s lawsuit said Maggie Kost, then the director of the Strategy and Performance Division, and Eisenstein, fired him in an Oct. 10, 2019, meeting and that the two told him that “he has not performed the tasks he was asked to perform.â€
Cierpiot asked the Jackson County Circuit Court to find that he was unlawfully discriminated against and that he should receive compensatory and punitive damages.
But, in its response, the Department of Economic Development said Cierpiot “never asked†Kost or Eisenstein for a reasonable accommodation and that “he was terminated because multiple attempts to reach him … had gone unanswered.â€
The filing goes on to ask that Cierpiot be required to pay back wages paid to him “for time he falsely claimed to have worked.†The state is also seeking interest and legal fees from its former employee.
The state attorneys said that during the week of Aug. 19, 2019, Cierpiot received nine work assignments but only finished two of them on time.
“Despite numerous attempts to follow up with Plaintiff over the following weeks, Plaintiff was non-responsive, and five of the remaining assignments were never completed by†Cierpiot, the state said.
The state said Cierpiot received emails and phone calls from his co-workers between Aug. 22 and Aug. 29, 2019, but that “he neither answered their calls nor responded to them,†the state said.
The state said Cierpiot told Eisenstein of his wrist injury for the first time on Aug. 29.
“Throughout September 2019, Plaintiff did not complete at least 18 work assignments and untimely completed at least four work assignments,†the state said. As a result, “Plaintiff’s co-workers had to do his work†in addition to regular duties.
The counterclaim states that other than Aug. 26 and 27, between Aug. 19 and Oct. 10, Cierpiot said on his timesheets “that he worked full 8-hour days, completed those timesheets, and submitted them or neglected to do so forcing his supervisor to do it on his behalf.â€
But, the state said, Cierpiot “did not work some or all of the hours he claimed on his timesheet†for the Aug. 19 through Oct. 10 time period.
In response, Cierpiot denied this claim in a March 2022 filing.