FALLBROOK — The Fallbrook Union Elementary School District has agreed to pay $375,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a former district employee who alleged she was fired for not complying with the district’s pandemic-related masking requirements.
Shawna Velasco, who worked as a personnel services technician, alleged in her federal lawsuit that she could not wear a mask due to a facial injury that required a complete nose reconstruction.
Velasco claimed in her lawsuit that she had documentation from her physician stating she could not wear a mask due to her injury, but the district did not allow her alternative work accommodations, such as working from home.
Velasco’s attorneys also allege her co-workers were not required to wear masks or face coverings, but because Velasco was unvaccinated — and had a religious exemption from the district’s vaccine mandate — she was “singled out and forced to wear a mask at all times.”
The lawsuit, which alleged retaliation, failure to accommodate, and discrimination on the basis of Velasco’s physical disability, says she was told to comply with the masking policy or resign. She was ultimately placed on unpaid leave and later terminated.
