Lapeer County Settles Davison Woman’s Whistleblower Lawsuit

Lapeer County has agreed to pay a Davison woman $250,000 to settle her lawsuit claiming she was fired after expressing concerns over disability claims for veterans.

MLive says Renee Verbeke worked for four months at the Lapeer County Department of Veterans Affairs. She claimed she was fired from her position as benefits counselor after expressing her concerns over delayed processing of disability claims for veterans. Verbeke said she was fired in 2013 after a conversation with the chairman of the county's VA committee and a former committee director. The county said Verbeke's firing was due to job performance and had nothing to due with conversation between the three.

A jury trial had been scheduled to begin on December 2nd, but Verbeke's attorney said $250,000 was decided following a case evaluation and both sides agreed to the figure ending the case.