The Ozark Fire Protection District has agreed to pay for benefits withheld from the spouse of a same-sex couple.
The American Civil Liberties Union had filed a lawsuit last November on behalf of former district captain Andrea “Andi” Mooneyham. It said in a statement Wednesday that the lawsuit had been dismissed by agreement of both parties.
The ACLU said the Ozark Fire Protection District agreed to compensate Mooneyham for the benefits she should have received and pay her attorneys’ fees. The settlement agreement states that the district’s insurance company, Continental Western Group, will pay Mooneyham, the plaintiff, $20,000. The payment does not constitute an admission of guilt by the defendant, according to the settlement.
Mooneyham, who had married Tara Muck in California in 2013, had sought the benefits from the district since summer 2014. The amendment to allow the benefits appeared to have support from the fire protection board last August, but no action was taken after board attorney Todd Johnson advised that the policy didn’t comply with state law.
In October, a Jackson County judge ruled that same-sex marriages legally performed in other states must be recognized in Missouri. The ACLU then sent a letter to Johnson informing him that the district is now required to offer spousal benefits to its married employees, regardless of their sexual orientation.
The lawsuit was filed in November after the district continued to deny such benefits.
