A high-ranking former Bloomington official alleges in a federal lawsuit that the city denied him medical leave, required him to keep working while on leave and withheld about $19,000 in pay after he sought leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Andrew Shannon, the city’s former safe and civil city director, alleges the city required him to keep working while on leave, including attending meetings, preparing reports and coordinating official city programming.
Shannon said that after he requested leave under FMLA in early February the city failed to pay him for about 308 hours of earned compensation. The suit says Shannon filed a related wage claim with the Indiana Department of Labor. He said the city also marked him as not leaving in “good standing” and denied him rehire eligibility, even though he had received no negative performance evaluations.
Shannon said after he requested the leave for treatment for medical conditions including degenerative bone disease, he “was subjected to increased scrutiny, disparate treatment and retaliatory conduct.”
The suit alleges other employees who took leave near their resignation were treated more favorably, receiving full compensation and not being required to work while on leave.
The Family and Medical Leave Act allows workers to take unpaid leave for serious health or family issues without being fired.
Shannon filed the suit on May 13, 2026 in federal court in Indianapolis. The city had not filed a response to the allegations as of Tuesday. A city spokeswoman said the city would “respond through the appropriate channels” but would not comment now on a confidential personnel matter, especially one that involves legal claims. Shannon referred questions to his attorney, Mark Waterfill, of Plainfield.
Shannon alleges the city’s actions also caused him emotional distress, reputational harm and other damages. He is seeking recovery of unpaid wages and benefits as well as unspecified punitive damages and liquidated damages, which can increase the amount owed, potentially doubling it if the claims are proven.
Shannon left the city in late February after about 16 months on the job.
Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Former Bloomington official sues city over leave, $19K pay dispute
Reporting by Boris Ladwig, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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