YOUNGSTOWN — A former Liberty Township maintenance supervisor has filed suit in U.S. Northern Ohio District Court, claiming that Liberty Township unlawfully fired him in July 2020 and violated the Family Medical Leave Act by not offering him medical leave for his serious mental health condition.

The lawsuit, filed in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court and later transferred to the federal court in Youngstown, was filed on behalf of former township maintenance supervisor Keith Siefert of Warren, who was delivered a notice of termination by the township while he was a patient in the psychiatric ward at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital on July 16, 2020.

On Nov. 2, U.S. Judge Benita Y. Pearson held a case management conference with attorneys for both sides of the lawsuit. Parties agreed to participate in a mediation between April 14 and May 8, 2023, directed by U.S. Magistrate Carmen Henderson. Dispositions must be filed in the case before May 26, according to the judge, and the next status conference is set for May 1.

Court records did not reveal, however, the dates for a final

pretrial hearing or jury trial in the case.

Siefert attorneys Kristen Krause and Richard Selby II, both of Painesville, are seeking compensatory and punitive damages totaling $50,000 for their client. They claim Siefert should have been offered FMLA because of his serious mental health conditions that were diagnosed as acute psychosis and delirium.

According to the lawsuit, the letter of termination delivered on behalf of township trustees by police Chief Toby Molero on July 16 did not say why Seifert was fired — only that he told his wife that the trustees thought Seifert was unsafe.

It was not until Seifert filed for unemployment benefits that he learned that he was fired because he had damaged a township vehicle, had failed to timely complete work assignments and had excessively used the internet during work hours.

In answering the allegations, township attorneys listed a dozen defenses to the lawsuit, claiming that Seifert had failed to state a claim in which relief can be granted. The defense attorneys, in asking for a jury trial, also claimed Seifert had not requested or provide documentation seeking FMLA leave.

“The plaintiff was discharged for legitimate, nondiscriminatory work-related reasons, unrelated to FMLA leave,” township attorneys Andrea K. Ziarko and Gregory Beck of North Canton wrote in an Aug. 15 filing with the court.

The lawsuit showed that Seifert began working for the township in 2009, being hired by then-township Administrator Patrick Ungaro as maintenance supervisor. Under Ungaro, the lawsuit states Seifert had no performance or disciplinary issues; in fact he received several letters of commendation.

“At no point during plaintiff’s employment was (he) ever disciplined for failure to timely complete work assignments,” the lawsuit states.

In 2014, Seifert took a 2 1/2-month leave of absence for an anxiety disorder.

In October 2016, then-fire Chief August Birch sent a letter to township officials expressing concern that Seifert was being assigned too much work. Seifert was not disciplined as a result of this letter, the lawsuit states, but at some point, he stopped performing larger maintenance projects for the township’s road and fire departments.

On July 1, 2020, police Capt. Ray Buhala had assigned Seifert the task of installing a computer system on four police cruisers. This work had to be completed by July 14, the lawsuit states. By July 13, Siefert had completed the job on three of the four required cruisers.

By that evening, Siefert’s wife, Tami, observed her husband engaging in unusual behavior, not responding to her and often looking at his cellphone. He also insisted on going for a bike ride even though it was dark outside.

The next day, Tami Siefert stated she became concerned when her husband stopped responding to text messages. By 4 p.m., Siefert had not come home from work even though he was supposed to quit by 3 p.m. When she drove to the township garage, she found her husband working on a cruiser, the lawsuit states, while its radio was playing loudly with all of the lights on, including the sirens.

Siefert eventually was taken to the hospital where he was admitted to the psychiatric ward and diagnosed with acute psychosis and delirium.

It was learned that Siefert had installed the new hardware on the wrong police cruiser.