Hennepin Co. Attorney’s Office reaches $190K settlement on discrimination charges

Court documents show a settlement has been reached between the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and Principal Attorney Amy Sweasy Tamburino.

According to the settlement document, Sweasy filed discrimination charges with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights against the county and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman.

Specific details regarding the discrimination charges have not been released.

The settlement states the county will pay Sweasy $190,000 to settle the charges.

In addition, the document states that Sweasy will now report to the criminal deputy county attorney for the rest of 2022, will no longer be on the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office management committee, will lead a complex prosecutions unit once it is established and also manage the county’s grand jury.

Freeman issued the following statement regarding the settlement:

“It has been my privilege to lead the Office of Hennepin County Attorney for 24 years. 526 employees are on the payroll today and thousands more have served in my tenure. The senior team in this Office has grown more diverse and six of ten members of the management committee are women. In 24 years, and among thousands of employees, no claim of discrimination has been found to be true. And that has not changed today. The Minnesota Data Practices Act restricts the employer’s ability to comment on personnel matters.  But our office’s record as the most diverse public law office in the state says it all about our shared commitment to fairness. And we celebrate all the diverse leaders that have advanced into the judiciary and other leadership roles in the state. That’s our record.”

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman