Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett Fired Jennifer Tyler in 2019. So Why Is She Still On The Payroll?
Tyler was terminated in Aug. 2019 but according to records, she still gets a monthly check from Chelan County and will for another four years
Former Chelan County Sheriff’s Deputy Jennifer Tyler and current Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett have had a contentious relationship – one that has cost the taxpayers of Chelan County roughly $1.5 million dollars so far.
In 2018 Burnett suspended Tyler. She and the deputy’s union sued and she won $506,500 in damages from Chelan County, plus $449,000 in attorneys’ fees, according to reporting by Jefferson Robbins.
Tyler was reinstated and in August 2019, Burnett terminated her again. So she and the union filed a grievance and won that case as well. But the details of that second settlement were not disclosed to the public – until now.
Recently an anonymous source sent me a letter. It included Tyler’s most recent settlement agreement, including a nondisclosure clause. With it came a cover letter from the sender.
“This is another settlement that Jennifer Tyler has won against Chelan County,” they wrote. “This was from a grievance process around 3-2021 where Chelan County Deputy Sheriff Association took Sheriff Burnett to arbitration. To settle the situation, and for her to not come back to work at Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Burnett agreed to pay Jennifer Tyler for about 5 years wages. She’s still on the payroll. This is not widely known. Tyler has won in Douglas County Civil Court against Chelan County, now a hearing where she gets a monthly payment for the next 5 years, and she hasn’t even gone to Federal Court in her latest court case. This story needs to be told of how much Sheriff Burnett is using Chelan County Taxpayers money to erase his mistakes.”
In the settlement agreement and mutual release document included, Chelan County and the Chelan County Sheriff’s office agreed to pay Tyler backpay from the date of her termination in August 2019 to the date the settlement went into effect on March 12, 2021.
The county also agreed to pay Tyler $455,000 in monthly payments over the course of five years.
“In addition to the backpay, the County shall pay Tyler an amount equal to five years’ gross wages totaling $455,000,” the settlement reads. “Payments shall be made to Tyler in monthly payments over five years and are anticipated to begin April 5, 2021.”
As a part of the settlement agreement, Tyler agreed never to apply for employment with Chelan County again.
All three parties involved also agreed not to talk about the settlement agreement.
“The County, the Association and Tyler, will not, without the prior written consent of the other, disclose to any person any of the terms, conditions or other facts with respect to this agreement, except as required by any laws or regulations governing the disclosure or public records or pursuant to any lawful order,” the NDA clause reads.
Obviously, the letter and its contents intrigued me. But I had to confirm Tyler is still on CCSO payroll to make sure the document is for real. So I put in a public records request with the Chelan County Auditor’s office for her payroll records since the settlement date. I also requested Burnett’s records.
The records I got back confirmed Tyler is still on the payroll and has collected $144,224.30 of the settlement in monthly installments so far.
I also reached out to Burnett, his assistant Jessica Peterson and Chelan County Public Information Officer Jill FitzSimmons about the settlement.
"Hi Sheriff Burnett, Ms. Peterson, and Ms. FitzSimmons,
I recently received the following letter. Attached was the settlement agreement and mutual release of claims document made between the county, the union, and Jennifer Tyler that, according to the document, went into effect March 12, 2021. I have a few questions about it.
1. What was the total amount of backpay Tyler received up to March 12, 2021?
2. Why wasn't the $455,000 paid out to Tyler in a lump sum? Why is she still on the payroll?
3. How much has Jennifer Tyler cost Chelan County in legal fees and settlements since she was hired?
4. When is a case going to federal court, and what is left to litigate regarding the matter of her termination?
Thank you for your time,” I wrote.
I bcc’d Chelan County Commissioner Bob Bugert on the email as well, but I didn’t hear back from anyone from the county.
I also reached out to Jennifer Tyler for a comment, and she did get back to me. However, she said she’s bound by her nondisclosure agreement and she had no comment on the matter of her second settlement agreement.
It’s important to note that, to my knowledge, Tyler did not send me the settlement and stressed the fact that if she violated her NDA, that would void her settlement agreement – something she does not want to do.
However, she did say when Burnett terminated her the second time that she was on leave attending to her dying father.
“Don’t forget he fired me while I was in Oklahoma on medical leave bedside with my dad who was dying of cancer,” she said. “He couldn’t even wait for me to get back off of medical.”
Supporting subscribers can view the settlement agreement and payroll records for Tyler and Burnett below the paywall.