Collin County is giving a county employee the equivalent of more than a year of his salary in exchange for his resignation, a firing that advocates attributed solely to the employee’s being gay.
County officials on Wednesday released the terms of a severance agreement with Justin Nichols, the county’s teen court coordinator who ran unsuccessfully for Plano City Council earlier this year.
Top county leaders have repeatedly declined to comment about Mr. Nichols. The agreement also offers a glimpse of the county’s determination to keep him from speaking on the matter.
The county agreed to forgive as much as $12,000 in tuition assistance that had already been awarded to Mr. Nichols and pay him an additional $26,500 in cash. Mr. Nichols, who is slated to leave Aug. 1, makes an annual salary of $35,500.
The signed agreement also included a typo, pegging the amount of Mr. Nichols’ severance at $26.5 million. Both parties signed off on an amendment correcting the mistake.
Moreover, the deal contains provisions forbidding Mr. Nichols or county officials to discuss the deal or its specifics. The severance document also says county officials will give Mr. Nichols a positive job recommendation in the future.
Collin County Commissioner Phyllis Cole cast the lone dissenting vote when the commissioners court approved the settlement June 10. Commissioners Jerry Hoagland, Joe Jaynes and Mr. Self voted for the agreement, while Commissioner Jack Hatchell was absent.
The document offers no reason why Mr. Nichols is leaving. As head of the teen court program, he supervises about 200 volunteers and has received positive performance reviews.
“I have to let the agreement speak for itself,” said Mr. Nichols Wednesday, declining further comment.
But Morris Garcia, head of a gay rights advocacy group, said commissioners “obviously” were discriminating against Mr. Nichols.
“Regardless of the reasons the county is hiding behind, we know what the bottom line truly is,” said Mr. Garcia, president of the Collin County Gay and Lesbian Alliance. “They are showing their true colors in their actions. We are not going to go away. This issue is not going away.”
Mr. Schulte, who as Mr. Nichols attorney is not restricted in the agreement from speaking with the media, did not accuse the county of discrimination. But he suggested that some commissioners were concerned about the county employing someone who is gay.
Collin County, as well as federal and state law, does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Twenty states and some cities, including Dallas, do forbid such discrimination.
“Texas is an at-will state,” Mr. Schulte said. “They can let you go for any reason unless you’re in a protected class. Whether we like it or not, sexual orientation is not one of those classes.”
Mr. Nichols said he has long been openly gay. But his sexual orientation became an issue in March after the Dallas Voice, a gay and lesbian newspaper, wrote a story about Mr. Nichols’ political candidacy and mentioned his sexual orientation.
The commissioners planned to discuss Mr. Nichols’ job status at an April meeting but decided against doing so. They would not say why they had planned to discuss Mr. Nichol’s employment.
