The municipal council of the city of Müllheim does not want to contest the damages judgment in favor of ex-mayor Siemes-Knoblich. But there is one condition.
The decision of the municipal council of Müllheim (Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district) is unanimous: the city wants to accept the judgment of the Freiburg administrative court to pay damages to its former mayor Astrid Siemes-Knoblich. The decision is subject to the condition that the ex-mayor waives further claims, such as compensation for pain and suffering. The city administration had proposed this line.
Siemes-Knoblich had confirmed talks between her lawyer and the city’s legal counsel on Tuesday. She had previously told SWR that she would refrain from paying compensation if the city accepted the verdict.
“I was never concerned with compensation for pain and suffering, but with equal pay for equal work.”
At the beginning of March, the court decided that Siemes-Knoblich was subsequently entitled to the same remuneration as her male predecessor and her male successor in Müllheim. The municipality in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald therefore had to pay the ex-town hall boss the difference of a good 50,000 euros. Siemes-Knoblich had claimed damages on the basis of the Anti-Discrimination Act. She was in office for eight years from 2011.
City could not refute “gender discrimination”.
Mayor Martin Löffler (SPD) said in a lengthy debate that his predecessor was also interested in bringing the dispute to a close. He was confident that Siemes-Knoblich would accept the settlement proposal. “I think it’s likely and also good.” However, he remains convinced that Siemes-Knoblich was not discriminated against because of her gender when she took office in 2011. The municipality south of Freiburg had already admitted that the municipal council had classified the position as too low at the time.
In its verdict, the court had stated that the city had not been able to refute the presumption of “gender-related discrimination”. Because she did not prove that the sex of the former mayor played no role in the municipal council decision on her salary. She would have had to prove that only other reasons led to the discrimination. She failed to do this.
